


Oneshotober 2019: Halo n' Touhou Edition

by Prank (NekoPrankster218)



Series: Prank's Oneshotober [1]
Category: Halo (Video Games) & Related Fandoms, Touhou Project
Genre: Acting, Alien Cultural Differences, Amnesia, Cemetery, Cheating, Competition, Curses, Death, Drinking, Gen, Gluttony, Going to Hell, Guns, Hell, Honor, Horror, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Monologue, Moral Lessons, Movie Night, Murder, Murder Husbands, My First AO3 Post, Newspapers, October Prompt Challenge, Ok Boomer, Old Friends, Spoilers, Story within a Story, Swearing, Temporary Character Death, Test of Courage, Tragedy, Vandalism, Verbal Humiliation, Walking, i mean suika ibuki is in this so..., no one can resist children's joy, onryo, pranks gone wrong, references to other media, some poor fairies and grunts get traumatized, technical vore...?, technically breaking and entering?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-01
Updated: 2019-11-24
Packaged: 2020-11-08 20:14:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 27,624
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20841362
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NekoPrankster218/pseuds/Prank
Summary: A series of oneshots for every day of October. This year the oneshots take place in either Halo canon, Touhou Project canon, or a crossover between the two.10/16/19: Murphy's Law has now dictated that this will most likely pile over into November. Sorry for the late updates!10/22/19: A few of the prompts have now been shuffled around to make churning out the rest of these a lot easier.





	1. Preface

I’ve been working on several works for a while now, but the first quarter of the school year kept me from getting them to a state where I’d be comfortable to start posting them. But now that it’s over, I’ve been antsy to get something on this site. So, I came up with this idea, and hope to maybe make it an annual thing (and maybe do the same thing for December)?

It’s not an original idea, but I kind of see it as a way to help practice writing skills and help get into the flow. So, beginning tomorrow-October 1st-I’ll be posting a different oneshot for every day of October. For this year I’ll be basing the oneshots on this list of prompts: https://aosficnet2.tumblr.com/post/187522021174/welcome-to-our-fall-challenge-promptober-your, since I found it in a search and liked the list. If you don’t want to click the link, I’ve included a list at the bottom of this preface. Already got some ideas for future ideas. It’s actually an Agents of Shield challenge, but uh...I never got past the first one or two episodes (really should get back to it).

As for the content of the ‘shots, I thought I’d do something interesting and have an overarching theme throughout them all. And by theme, I really mean fandom(s). Since the latest of my in-progress series is a Halo x TouHou Project crossover, and currently its getting the most attention from myself, I’ve decided to have each of the oneshots either be Halo, TouHou, or both. Only the 31st one is canonical to the Halo x Touhou Project thing I’m working on, though (which may the first project posted, depending on how things go?).

Also, just as a warning. At the time of writing this preface, I’ve already get basic ideas for 1st-30th down, and a vast majority of these are Touhou-only. I guess that’s just how my ideas developed.

Alright, now here’s that list I promised:  
1st - Carving Pumpkins  
2nd - Fall Drinks  
3rd - Halloween Decorating  
4th - Haunted House  
5th - Hay Rides  
6th - Raking Leaves  
7th - Playing Pranks  
8th - Costume Shopping  
9th - Halloween Parties  
10th - Scary Movie Marathon  
11th - Autumn Baking  
12th - Exploring a Graveyard at Night  
13th - Telling Ghost Stories  
14th - Trick or Treating  
15th - Corn Maze or a Maze of Mirrors  
16th - Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde  
17th - Ancient Curse  
18th - Harvest Fest  
19th - Kiss of Death/Life  
20th - When the Bell Toll/Church Bells  
21st - Urban Legend from Your Town  
22nd - Vampire  
23rd - Full Moon  
24th - Werewolf (or Were-Creatures of Your Choice!)  
25th - Devil/Angel  
26th - Robots/LMDs  
27th - Witchcraft  
28th - Hell  
29th - Halloween in Space  
30th - Autumn Wedding  
31st - Free Prompt


	2. October 1st - Pumpkin Carving (Touhou)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> October 1st prompt: pumpkin carving.
> 
> The tradition of carving pumpkins has been discovered by the humans of Gensokyo, but how will the youkai react?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: I only procrastinated my school assignments because I didn't like most of the content. I'm going to get all my story updates up on time when I become a writer!  
Also me: *doesn't get the Oct. 1st oneshot done until after midnight*
> 
> As for names, we're going to stick to "first name-last name" order for convenience, save for a few possible exemptions.

“Alright, I’m here,” the red-white shrine maiden of Gensokyo huffed as she landed on the path. “What did you want to show me?”  
At the outskirts of the Human Village, Reimu Hakurei found her old friend Marisa Kirisame. The black and white magician turned and smiled upon seeing her.  
“About time! You’re not gonna believe this!” Marisa beamed, and raced down the path.  
The actions confused Reimu, but she shrugged and went along with it. The roofs of the Human Village could be seen from their meeting place, but as the two went down the path, the rest of the buildings could be seen.  
“Well, are you seeing it?!” Marisa suddenly shouted over her shoulder.  
“Seeing _what_?” Reimu asked.  
“Look at all these vegetables!”  
Caught taken aback, Reimu stopped focusing on the Human Village and slowed down. As she allowed her gaze to search the area around them, she realized the detail she had missed. Round, orange vegetables had been placed all along the paths to the Human Village. Many were even arranged in a circle; a sort of mock barrier of…  
“What are these?” Reimu looked back to her guide.  
“Kosuzu called them ‘pumpkins’,” Marisa answered. “She discovered what they were earlier in the year from a new book arrival.”  
“And they’re here now, because…?”  
“Well, someone who borrowed the book started telling people about what they read and soon everyone wanted their own carved pumpkin. Not sure how the seeds made it here, though…”  
Reimu shook her head and went back to observing the pumpkins. They each seemed to have their own unique designs carved into them, showing a hollow interior. Most designs were of faces, ranging from comedic to horrific. A few non-faces were that of symbols; some religious and others spiritual. A rare trend in the carvings were those of pretty patterns.  
“Well, you like it?” Marisa’s question interrupted Reimu’s viewing.  
“If all the humans wanted their own pumpkin, then what are these doing outside of the village?” Reimu asked, rather than answer Marisa’s question.  
“That’s why everyone was so interested with the book in the first place,” Marisa began explaining. “Apparently, humans in the Outside World ward off evil spirits and other creatures with these things. I guess they either get scared of the pumpkins, or maybe they’re tricked into thinking they’re kin? Well, whatever it was, it got everyone hooked on the idea.”  
“I don’t think many youkai are going to be scared of these things…” Reimu gave a skeptical look at a pumpkin with a messily carven face. “Maybe the fairies.”  
“Ah, you don’t think this is gonna come across as offensive, do ya?”  
“The ‘trick them into thinking these are their kin’ part might, but we’ll just have to see. How long have these been here?”  
Marisa pointed her thumb back towards the village. “They just finished setting them up. And while the whole army of pumpkins is neat on its own, just wait for when it gets dark. Another part of the legend included putting candles inside so the pumpkins will light up at night.”  
“I thought this was supposed to keep youkai _away_,” Reimu remarked. “But won’t that just draw their attention?”  
“Hey, I wasn’t the one who wrote the book.”  
Reimu began turning away. “Well, I’m going to head back to my shrine. But I’ll keep an eye out to see if this does anything.”  
The magician gave her a thumbs up. “I’ll stick around here! Maybe I’ll get to fight someone pissed off at the humans.”  
Reimu swallowed her nervousness at that and took flight. This pumpkin display couldn’t cause that much drama, could it?

* * *

Unfortunately for Marisa, no youkai sought to fight the humans that night. At least, not in the traditional manner.  
The youkai had been split in their reactions to the carved pumpkins. But when it came to offense? Most just thought they could pull off a better carving.  
That day, Minoriko Aki became the most visited goddess of Gensokyo. It began with a wave of youkai who wanted to show the humans what a _real_ pumpkin carving looked like. But as word went around, many others wanted a try at the humans’ unintentional challenge. Soon, people went to Minoriko for a pumpkin without even knowing what was going on. They just wanted in.  
By the end of the day, a whole new army of pumpkins carved by youkai was placed in front of the humans’ pumpkins as a response.  
On the third day of this nonsense, Reimu went down the path to the Human Village once more. Observing the youkai’s pumpkins, she could tell the first wave had gone with the approach of making scarier faces. The frightening expressions had seemed to die quickly in popularity, though. The new few waves decided to take on the aspect of symbols. Every time Reimu saw a sigil she recognized, she sighed. In fact, she saw a few repeating sigils.  
The picture of Sakuya overlooking an assembly line of pumpkin-carving fairies came to mind.  
The symbols then evolved to detailed scenes. Some seemed to reflect famous events in history, or in some cases, “mythology” to the Outside World. The creation of the islands of Japan. The births of different gods and goddesses. Amaterasu hiding in a cave, and the subsequent attempts to draw her out. Battles of various clans, such as the Soga clan. The breaking of Yatsugatake.  
Others were part of the history of Gensokyo. Various incidents, both historical and recent. The creation of the Great Hakurei Barrier. The Genso-Lunar War. The beginning of the Gensokyo Chronicle. The Youkai Mountain erupting.  
There were also celebrations to specific influential citizens of Gensokyo. Reimu noted dozens of pumpkins dedicated to either the Moriya Shrine, the Myouren Temple, or the Divine Spirit Mausoleum; or their own faiths in general.  
Finally, abstract designs and patterns gained more traction in the youkai population. There were especially groups of pumpkins that resembled specific spell card designs. Some of these added to the promotion of certain individuals and factions.  
When Reimu finally arrived to the Human Village, she sighed and shook her head at the sight. The youkai pumpkins vastly out-numbered the human ones, so the residents of the village were massively doubling down on their efforts. She doubted that even Minoriko could keep up with this level of demand, so she noted to be on the look-out for any pumpkin-dealing rings.  
She stopped by the Hieda residence when she noticed Akyuu, the current Child of Miare, taking notes outside.  
“Is this going in the Gensokyo Chronicle?” Reimu asked, announcing her presence to the purple-haired girl.  
“We’ll see how this goes,” Akyuu mused. “This is certainly a unique event. Are you anticipating an incident?”  
“Over pumpkins? That’s ridiculous, even for Gensokyo.”

* * *

By the end of the week, Reimu Hakurei had defeated the mastermind of The Great Pumpkin Company. This ring had used magic to manifest pumpkins to sell to both humans and youkai, capitalizing on the event that had earned the name “The War of Pumpkins”. She then had to travel to each part of Gensokyo to declare the “war” was over and everyone had to clean up the pumpkins they had placed to intimidate not just the Human Village, but all of Gensokyo.  
Yes. The pumpkin carving had indeed evolved into an incident. The final combination of waking up to her shrine being surrounded by “units” resembling various youkai, as well as Eiki Shiki complaining that the pumpkins had been lined up across the Sanzu River, had forced Reimu to accept that.  
Unfortunately, the last piece of information Reimu learned about the book that had started this all revealed the pumpkin carving to be an annual tradition.  
The following year, Higan issued an early warning that any who placed pumpkins around the Sanzu River or beyond would have it noted in their final judgements.


	3. October 2nd - Fall Drinks (Halo x Touhou)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nitori creates a machine to end drink shortages, but maybe she shouldn't have had Suika test the alcohol options in front of a crowd.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey it's not late this time. Well, now I've officially rated this "T", let's see if it stays that way? I was a little unsure of the alcohol tags, but I went with my gut based on certain phrasing in this 'shot. If you have any suggestions with editing tags, please let me know in the comments! I'm also learning more about the formatting of this site (the first time I had to post an actual chapter, I was caught off guard).

On one particular November day, Marisa Kirisame noticed a crowd of marines gathered around the joint-species base’s mess hall. The human men and women seemed to be intrigued by something happening at one of the corners. Curious herself, the magician walked over.

“Hey, what’s going on over here?” Marisa asked a marine near the edge.

“That kappa of yours is up to something,” the marine said. “I haven’t been able to get to see it, though, so I don’t know what.”

Marisa couldn’t help the anxiety she got at that. Nitori may have been the closest Gensokyo ally to humans based on her virtues, but that didn’t mean her inventions couldn’t get out of head. Thinking back to that time the kappa made an attraction that caused some panic in a few residents who mistook what it was did not help. She really wanted to float over the crowd to get a view, but then she thought back to the “no flying inside the base” rule that was added because of her. Sighing, she struggled to get through the crowd.

“Alright, let me in! I have a right to know what she’s up to.”

After a few minutes of pushing and shoving from both sides, Marisa finally made it to the open space that Nitori Kawashiro had imposed on her audience. In front of the engineer was a machine similar to the drink machines that were already present in the base. However, this one had dozens of more buttons, and the metal of the machine was a signature of kappa design. Nitori seemed to be just finishing installment of this invention.

“What the hell is this, Nitori?” Marisa asked, grabbing the kappa’s attention.

“Oh, Marisa, you’re just in time!” Nitori beamed. “This is just the first in a line of inventions that will solve the food shortages caused by this war. I’m having the first real test in the base, and if things go well, I’ll make more for the refugee camps.”

“And judging by the design of this one…”

“It creates liquids! Well, actually just water; but I’ve added a series of mechanisms that change the appearance and taste depending on what’s coded into the machine.”

Marisa adjusted her hat. “And how’s that supposed to solve a shortage of drinkable water?”

“Ah, well I built in a miniature process of condensation. You see, it absorbs the air and converts it into water.”

“What if the water’s dirty?”

“Already thought of that. The final process of conversion includes purifying.”

“Heh, the kappa sure are something.” Marisa overheard one marine say.

“This one’s definitely been putting our guys to shame.” Another replied.

“I feel bad for Reggie,” one girl said. “He spent all that time in college, too.”

“Say, Marisa,” Nitori began. “Could you actually do something for me? I want Suika to help with tasting the alcoholic choices. She’s a good judge on those kinds of drinks.”

“Right, I got ‘ya.” Marisa said with a thumbs up.

The crowd let her out, an easier experience then trying to go in. The magician exited the mess hall, noticing a few curious Sangheili warriors lingering now. They didn’t make a move to go inside, though. 

After some wandering around the base, Marisa finally found Suika chatting with Olympia Vale and Usze ‘Taham. The oni was spouting some facts about human-oni relations.

“I fail to see how abduction could lead to a…’mutual trust’.” Usze said.

“What?” Suika asked, confused. “We only did it to those we liked! It was an honor!’

“But they sent people to fight back against you,” Vale pointed out. “And I’m still confused on what ‘exterminate’ means in Gensokyo context, but out here that means ‘killing’.”

“And we oni revelled at the challenge! But then the amount of exterminators decreased, so we got frustrated and moved to Hell.”

“If you don’t get it now, I wouldn’t bother to keep trying,” Marisa cut in. “Things in Gensokyo, especially with youkai, are just different.”

“You can say that again.” Vale said.

“Anyway, Nitori needs you, Suika.”

“Eh? What for?” Suika asked, taking a swig of her gourd.

“She said you were a good judge in tasting alcohol.” When Suika hurriedly put her gourd away, Marisa added, “In the mess hall.”

“Got it!”

The oni girl rushed off in the direction of the mess hall, much to the amusement of the others present.

“How did Nitori get her hands on alcohol?” Vale asked. “They don’t just hand that around.”

“It’s part of her new invention,” Marisa explained. “A machine that can create water literally out of air, and alter the look and taste to match other drinks.”

“Really?” Usze looked skeptical. “I find that hard to believe. I do not think even a Huragok could build something like that.”

“I didn’t really ask many questions. At this point, I’ve pretty much accepted the kappa can build anything given enough time.”

Vale turned to address Usze. “You want to head to the mess hall to see where this goes?”

“I _ am _ curious to see if the device actually works…” Usze admitted.

“We can go together!” Marisa suggested. “I mean, I already came from there anyway. And I want to see this play out, too.”

The three made their way back to the mess hall, not long after Suika’s own arrival. By now, several Sangheili watched the scene from a short distance. Suika herself was already making herself a glass. Marisa realized she had no idea where she got a cup, nor what it could be made of. It was most likely Nitori had also built in a cup dispenser, though whether there was a limit to the supplies was yet to be seen. Considering the track record of the species, Marisa wouldn’t put it pass there being a limitless supply.

“What’cha drinking?” Marisa asked as she and her two companions made it to the machine.

“Hot buttered rum!” Suika announced. She took a large gulp, and made a delighted noise after swallowing. “Now that’s a drink!”

“Is it too strong?” Nitori asked. Suika’s immediate laughter caused her to rephrase the question. “I mean, would it be too strong for a human?”

Suika stopped to think. “Not in my opinion, no. Then again, I’m not as lightweight.”

“Lightweight?!” a marine in the crowd exclaimed. The young man stepped forward. “I can hold my liquor!”

This only caused _ both _ Suika and Marisa to laugh, with Nitori cracking a nervous smile.

“She doesn’t mean it like that,” Nitori tried to explain. “Oni are just heavier drinkers than other species.”

“Ha, I can drink more than a girl that size,” the marine boasted. “Give me a glass, too! I’ll provide a more accurate result for humans, anyway.”

Nitori nervously laughed. “If you insist…”

“Oh no,” Marisa said. “Are you sure, pal? Most humans _ die _ trying to out-drink an oni.”

“Death by drinking?” another marine stepped up. “I’m not afraid of dying like that.”

“Aw shit.”

Even more marines announced their intent in participating. Despite knowing how such contests typically ended, Nitori couldn’t help but fulfill the orders. Suika merely grinned, eager to test the humans’ wills, as well as their kidneys. As the contest began, a few Sangheili realized what was happening and added themselves to the challenge. Even Marisa shrugged and declared that, despite knowing she couldn’t beat Suika, she’d be aiming for second place.

Nitori, noticing Vale hadn’t joined in, decided to ask for an order anyway. “And is there anything you want, Vale?”

“Nothing alcoholic,” the woman answered. “What else is there?”

“A whole bunch! I’ve got soft drinks, coffees, teas, energy drinks, juices, milks-” However, as the kappa’s speech increased in speed, Vale cut her off.

“I’ll just have a latte...do you have pumpkin spice?”

“Hm, not the exact Pumpkin Spice Latte recipe...but I can improvise!”

“Sure then.”

Nitori prepared a similar tasting drink by mixing certain available drink options and adding in from the kitchen what was missing. The resulting beverage satisfied Vale, causing the kappa to note that mixing drinks and adding outside ingredients was fine. As for Usze, he wasn’t interested in the current contest, but still wished to aid in testing Nitori’s machine. Therefore, he ordered an apple cider, and reported nothing wrong with it.

Meanwhile, the drinking contest was still dominated by Suika. Even though Nitori was nervous about alcoholic-related deaths occurring in the aftermath, she still saw it as a way to test all the varying drinks. It seemed when one person announced they would try a certain drink, everyone else followed suit to prove they could handle it. It didn’t even have to be Suika to initiate it, like at the beginning. Nitori checked off pumpkin ale, white Russian, mimosa, sangria, appletini, margarita, mulled wine, and old fashioned cocktails as performing well. Less than half of the contestants noticed a lemon taste in the moscow mule servings instead of lime. Maybe a result of it being next to the lemonade option? She’d have to look into that glitch.

* * *

By the end of the hour, most people inside the mess hall were quite wasted. The few who were not drunk were either those who decided not to participate, or those who came in later to see what was going on. Nitori would then offer the latter any kind of drink that had yet to be tested.

Despite the UNSC and ONI’s interest in Nitori’s new drink machine, as well as her future plans for similar inventions, the superior officers of the marines involved were reasonably pissed at the quick abuse of alcohol. It did help that half of the humans were hospitalized, including one Sangheili. Marisa, thankfully, was not included in that count. Unfortunately, many of the Sangheili bested her in the contest, leaving her to take 7th place. She later had to answer to Reimu, as did Suika.

As for the oni herself, she only had this to say during Aya’s following interview: “I’ll admit, either these guys were the best of the bunch, or tolerance is higher in the Outside World. I was expecting a lot more casualties!”


	4. October 3rd - Halloween Decorations (Touhou)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reimu wakes up one day to a vandalized shrine, and journeys around Gensokyo to find the culprit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd just like to say in advance: this one is more of a comedy, maybe even a parody. I think it might be the longest so far. Anyway, the funny thing about this is, despite the fact that I started this journey to prepare myself for writing the Halo x Touhou crossover, researching something for this chapter made me realize I made an error in my Corpse Party x Rango x minor Touhou fic (yes, I'm making that; no, I will not be stopped). So I took a few hours revising that before finishing here. Also: for further hilarity (in my opinion, at least), picture each battle as a "stage".

Reimu Hakurei looked up in horror at the sight that greeted her when she stepped outside. It had just been a simple morning; nothing wrong had been apparent upon waking up. But now it seemed she was wrong to think so.

Her shrine, THE Hakurei Shrine, had been vandalized during the night.

Gaping at the new additions, she could see mock ghosts made with white cloth and tissue paper. Black ink had been used to give them each their own, simple face. These “ghosts” were placed to hang around the roof, allowing them to blow in the wind.

Tightening her hands into fists, Reimu shook as she grit her teeth. A fury rarely seen boiled deep inside the shrine maiden, and threatened to engulf her mind. Launching into the air, Reimu could only feel one instinct: exterminate _ anyone _ involved in this heinous crime. She would not be mocked! She would not be humiliated! She would not allow _ anyone _ to disgrace the Hakurei clan, nor their god!

_ So it was ghosts that were placed? _ Were Reimu’s only coherent thoughts. _ Then I’ll visit the Netherworld! Yuyuko must be having a laugh at this! _

Passing the weakened Barrier of Life and Death, Reimu charged up the stairway to Hakugyokurou. Any spirit or phantom that got too close were unfortunate enough to receive a powerful attack, knocking them away. At the top, Youmu jumped in shock. Before she could ask any questions, however, she felt the full force of a yin-yang orb. By the time she recovered, Reimu had already passed her.

“Yuyuko, you better show yourself, because I _ will _ find you eventually!” Reimu called.

Oblivious to the seething rage, Yuyuko entered into Hakugyokurou’s garden, where Reimu was waiting for her.

“Oh, the shrine maiden!” she clapped her hands. “To what do I-”

Reimu swiftly hit Yuyuko over the head with her purification rod, knocking her out. Satisfied, the shrine maiden went back the way she came, leaving behind some _ very _ confused phantoms.

* * *

Demons. There were now fake demons that joined the mock ghosts. She was only gone for less than half an hour, and now there were _ demons _ plastered around her shrine! This was even worse than the ghosts!

It was now cear to Reimu that it couldn’t have been Yuyuko, or anyone in the Netherworld, who could have done this. Unless they had slipped past her, or ordered someone else to do it. But that didn’t seem likely.

She now also thought that maybe she think this through, and not go charging into a place beating everyone up.

So, let’s think here. First it was fake ghosts, and now it was fake demons. Who could possibly get such an idea?

“Former Hell!” Reimu suddenly shouted. “But which of them did it?! Those in the Palace?! Those in the city around it?! Maybe even the _ oni _!”

Of course! Suika mentioned long ago that the oni had been tired of not getting that many challenges. This must be their way of fixing that! Well, if it was a fight they wanted, it was a fight she would bring them.

Reimu, like before, flew off to enter Former Hell. It just so happened that Suika was visiting her old friend Yuugi there. Perhaps to celebrate their victory over her shrine?! Fat chance!

That hour, the oni of Former Hell had to face a pissed off shrine maiden. They, at first, were thrilled at the challenge, despite being confused as to why she sought them out in the first place. However, the excitement soon died down. They started to realize...she was _ very _ serious about exterminating them. Even though she wasn’t using any of the procedures they were familiar with, somehow, whatever was fueling her allowed her to kick their asses.

“Damn, is she always like this?!” Yuugi asked Suika.

“Well, she can get a little cranky sometimes, but I’ve never seen her like _ this _!” the smaller oni said.

“Is there any way we can get her calmed down?”

“I dunno. Got any money? She always celebrated when she got donations!”

“Uh...I got booze. Does she accept that?”

“I don’t see why _ anyone _ would turn down free alcohol!”

“Alright then! Let’s head to her shrine to place it there!”

Upon stating that, however, Yuugi saw Suika’s eyes go wide. She turned around to see that Reimu had instantly locked on to them. With a raging shrine maiden setting her bloodlust on them, the two oni couldn’t help but scream and run. However, Reimu’s flight was faster, and she grabbed them each by their horns.

“Shrine…” she mumbled. “_ Shrine _…”

“Ah, Reimu, we’re heading there right now!” Suika screamed. “We’ll get you your donations!”

The mention of donations was able to get past the cloud of Reimu’s enraged state, causing her to tilt her head.

“As punishment?” she asked.

“Punishment?! What did we do?!” Yuugi demanded fearfully.

Reimu didn’t answer. After a few moments, she let go of the oni. Eventually, she floated out of Former Hell, her head lowered in shame.

The oni watched her go in confusion. Giving each other looks, they soon shrugged and went back to drinking.

* * *

You would think she’d learn after that embarrassment. And she almost did. However, when Reimu returned to her shrine, she yet again found a new display. This one was of vampires and ghouls. Her mind went off for a third time.

“Remilia...of course! This is all in an attempt to embarrass me! I’ll show that little bat she can’t get to me!”

Meanwhile, Remilia Scarlet was enjoying her daily tea time on the Scarlet Devil Mansion’s balcony. Her good friend, Patchouli Knowledge, joined her as the head maid, Sakuya Izayoi, catered to them. The two were chatting as usual as they drank red tea and pale crumpets.

“Anyway, regardless of who was supposed to watch Tupai,” Remilia began again after taking a drink. “You have to admit-_ duck _.”

“Huh-?!” The warning caught Patchouli by surprise, by that was quickly overshadowed by the red and white figure who slammed into her.

“Miss Knowledge!” Sakuya gasped right after. “Reimu, what on _ Earth _ are you doing?!”

Said shrine maiden bolted up, but ignored her. Instead, she glared at Remilia and pointed her purification rod towards the vampire.

“_ You _ ! I’ll exterminate your entire _ race _ for what you did!” she declared.

“Did what?” Remilia asked with an amused and knowing smirk. “You’ll have to narrow it down some.”

“You _ know _ what! Three times, my shrine’s been vandalized! Your mind games have had me flying around Gensokyo, beating up anyone I mistake as the culprit, when it was _ you _ all along!”

“Is that...not what you do anyway…?” Patchouli asked from the ground.

“Reimu, before I have to call upon my maid to drop kick you, mind answering me _ this _ ,” Remilia mused. “Did you even find any evidence to support that someone from my mansion did it, or did you just _ assume _ so based on flimsy justifications?

Reimu paused.

“That’s what I thought. Sakuya!”

The maid bowed. “Yes, mistress.”

By the time Reimu came back to her senses, she was sailing across the air away from the mansion, _ without _the use of her abilities.

* * *

“I can’t keep doing this!” Reimu yelled to herself on the way back home.

Yet another addition, this time being fake black cats along the path to her shrine. This had caused her to go down to the Animal Realm, based on the grounds that cats were animals. She found that, once again, she had jumped to conclusions and everyone down there was innocent. She gave the oni another scare on the way, too.

“I won’t do it again, I swear!” Reimu promised to herself. “If I see another ‘decoration’ to my shrine, I’ll just calmly and rationally ask around about it. Fifth time’s the charm, as they say!”

“More like as _ you _ say.” A voice said next to her. Startled, Reimu saw that it was just Marisa who had joined her.

“Marisa, what are you doing around here?”

“I heard you were going around Gensokyo scaring people, and I had to check for myself. What’s gotten into you? Is it true?”

Reimu sighed. “Unfortunately...someone keeps vandalizing my shrine, and my judgement keeps getting clouded because of it. I massacred the Netherworld, terrorized the oni, was called out by Remilia, and now I caused another war in the Animal Realm!”

“Damn, who’d do something like _ that _ ?”  
“I don’t know, but they’re going to be in so much trouble when I figure it out!”

“Actually, I was talking about what _ you _ did.” Marisa laughed. “Keep it up, and maybe _ I’ll _ have to exterminate _ you _.”

Reimu groaned, but then stopped.

“Eh? What’s wrong?”

Marisa looked down, and found they were at the Hakurei shrine now.

Which was covered in witch dolls.

Marisa looked back at Reimu nervously. “Hey now…you don’t think _ I _ did this, now do ‘ya?”

The slow turn and reveal of a yin-yang orb was all the sign she needed to fly the hell out of there.

Thankfully, Reimu shook her head instead of going after her. Looking back down at her shrine, she sighed again.

“I’m getting sick and tired of this prank...it’s not funny at all!” Reimu exclaimed. However, she thought back to what she just said. “Prank...prank...of course! Why didn’t I think of it the first time?! This is the obvious work of a fairy! Maybe even a whole _ group _ of them! Only they’d be stupid enough to provoke me!”

* * *

Elsewhere in Gensokyo, Ran Yakumo investigated a series of noises she heard in her mistress’s bedroom. She knocked on the door, and was surprised when she heard a reply to come in. Inside, she saw her boss, Yukari Yakumo, sprawled on the floor.

“Lady Yukari…?” Ran asked carefully. “I heard a commotion...is something wrong…?”

“Ah, hold on, hold on,” Yukari said in a pleased tone. She summoned another gap and poked her head inside.

Ran decided to peer in herself, and watched as the Hakurei shrine maiden sent a trio of fairies falling into the ground. Yukari quickly pushed both their heads out, closed the gap, and began laughing uncontrollably.

“Oh, this is _ hysterical _!” she gasped in-between her laughter.

“What...what is young Reimu doing…?” Ran asked.

“Hm? Oh, don’t mind the reports you’re going to get, Ran. I’m just having a little fun.”

Chen then came in, holding a box full of paper mache skeletons.

“I brought the next batch!” the bakeneko announced.

“_ Perfect _!” Yukari clapped. “I wonder where this will send her to next!”

Ran immediately let out a sigh, catching on to what was happening. It was time to get the mistress a hobby.


	5. October 4th - Haunted House (Halo x Touhou

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Moonlit Squad becomes separated from the rest of the platoon and decides to take shelter in an old European mansion. But how do the residents feel about this?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...this took days to complete. I was originally gonna have the human and Sangheili cast be throwaways (excluding Usze), but then I figured it'd be better in the long run if I just made a cast of reusable OCs. Therefore, I did some extensive research on UNSC military units, USNC ranking, and Sangheili ranking so I wouldn't just be throwing around labels without any idea of their significance. Then there was the matter that, for some reason, this just became a long plot. Like, damn, this oneshot alone is longer than the entire work posted so far!
> 
> Anyway, I hope the length of this one makes up for how behind I've gotten. I'll be sure to churn out the days I missed and catch up quickly, now that this behemoth is done!

During one particular battle against the Covenant in a heavily dense forest, a group of marines decided to take shelter inside a nearby mansion after getting separated from the other forces. They were unsure of who it belonged to, or how long it had been there, but the four men and singular woman knew they needed to take a break.

“Alright, now just keep an eye out,” Corporal Danny Mann said to his squad. “Never know when a Covie’ll show up.”

“What about the rest of the platoon?” Lance Corporal Hughs Goldsworth asked.

“We’ll find a way back, or at least to make contact again. For now, we take a breather.”

“In that case,” the only girl of the squad, Private Anzu Takamura, began. “I’m going to explore this place. Later, boys!”

“Hey, don’t get too far now.” Danny warned.

“Don’t worry ‘bout Annie,” Private Jeffrey Jones waved the concern off. “I’m sure she’ll be fine.”

“It’s not a good idea to split up.” Hughs insisted.

“It’s not like she won’t be able to hear us if we called, and vice versa.” said the final member of the squad, Lance Corporal Rikky Tikkitavi, more commonly known as Drummer.

“We’ll just have to be listening carefully,” Danny said. “Hughs, why don’t you stay posted at the front door? Just in case anyone drops by.”

Hughs nodded and took a firm position right next to the front door. Danny turned to his other two men left.

“We’ll keep going and see if anyone’s home or not,” he said. “Got it?”

“Yessir!” Jeffrey and Drummer said in unison.

The three continued on further into the European-style mansion. They originally had hoped to stay within hearing distance of each other. But, to their surprise, the interior of this mansion was bigger than expected. Thinking back to when they first saw the mansion from the outside, though, this seemed to not line up.

Regardless, it became quite easy for them to get separated from each other. Danny tried to combat this by calling for regular headcounts, but soon, his two men didn’t respond after he called out to them.

He sighed to himself. “I guess this is a ‘Hughs is always right’ kind of day, huh?”

The squad leader was currently in a strange room that lacked any windows. There had actually been several that he had seen before with the same condition. This was one of the few things that made sense, at least in the context of what they saw outside. Apparently the designer of this mansion had hated windows, or something similar.

There were also some other details that bothered him. With the old-fashioned furniture and odd choice in paintings, Danny couldn’t help but feel like he was the protagonist of a Gothic novel. And not the “dye my hair black phase” kind of goth either. Every other picture in this place was of some kind of vampiric figure. The most common one was of a little girl with blue hair and bat wings. Why any Victorian painter would think to use an unnatural hair color, he couldn’t understand. How long ago did hair-dying even start?

Exiting the room and returning to the hall, the corporal suddenly felt a sense of unease. His subconscious was picking up on something he didn’t notice. But what could be wrong? He looked around and tried to analyze; using his memories to play a game of “spot-the-difference”.

He looked back at one of the paintings of the vampire girl and realized the eyes were missing. Treading carefully, Danny tried to peer through the eye holes. On the other side, he could see darkness, but the kind of an empty room with no lights. Just as his eyes were adjusting and starting to make out furniture, a pair of orchid eyes blocked his view.

Danny jumped back, fumbling for his gun. He could see the orchid eyes stare down at him, before the usual red eyes of the painting slid back into place.

“What the hell?!” he said after a few moments.

_ Does that mean people  _ are _ here? _ The marine thought to himself.  _ But what kind of eye color is orchid? Must be some contact lense aesthetic. _

Danny then heard the click of a door open, and slowly turned his head to face the source. A door next to the painting, one he previously checked to find was locked, had just opened. He waited, still on the floor…

Then bolted up when a flying, glowing figure burst out.

* * *

A scream caused Lance Corporal “Drummer” to tense up. That sounded like his leader, but where was he? That scream sounded so distant; he almost wondered if Danny had gone outside. Did that imply that the Covenant had caught up to them?

Drummer put a hand on his primary weapon as he began back-tracking, hoping to figure out where Danny had gone. He couldn’t find Jeffrey either, and there was no sign of Anzu passing through this part of the building. He almost felt like he was the only living thing inside the mansion.

As he made his way through the dimly lit hall, the marine suddenly felt his foot connect with something. Unfortunately, this sent him towards the ground. After recovering, with a groan, he turned back. But he didn’t see anything that he could have tripped over.

_ That’s odd...I could have sworn I felt something… _

He got back up and continued, but found that the tripping scenario persisted. After the fifth time, he got fed up, and kept his eyes glued to the ground. The next thing that sent him falling was a push, now confirming his growing suspicions. Someone was messing with him.

“Alright, show yourself!” he demanded after he got back on his feet. “Jonesy, Annie, is that one of you?! Whoever you are, it’s not funny! You  _ do not _ mess with an armed soldier!”

After his warning, Drummer heard something breeze through the air. Turning his head, he barely dodged a knife that was aimed for his head. He looked back to see the small weapon embedded into the wall. At this point, the marine decided to view his harasser as hostile and drew his weapon.

“Come out,  _ now _ !” he yelled, bringing the gun up.

However, in an instant, he lost visual of his gun. Not that he moved it out of view. No, his hands were empty. His gun had just  _ disappeared _ .

Communications were gone, so he couldn’t call from back-up. Drummer sighed and went for his secondary weapon, only to find it was also missing.

_ But how?! I didn’t even feel it move… _

Still filled with determination, Drummer went into a stance with two fists close to his chest. Just because he was unarmed, doesn’t mean he was going to give up the fight just yet. As soon as the assailant tried to make another move, he swore he would punch them. He just had to focus on any sound that could warn him of their movements.

One of his guns came sailing out of the darkness in front of him. Quick to react, he moved his body so it wouldn’t hit him, but still managed to catch it. He swiftly brought it back to position, firing two rounds from where it came. However, no noise indicated they had even hit a wall or the floor. Squinting, he took a few steps forward, and soon saw the outline of the end of the hall. It hadn’t been that far away, but his bullets weren’t anywhere to be seen.

Until Drummer felt two small objects lightly impact his back. He turned and found two bullets, matching the type that he had just fired.

“What the fuck is going on?!” he said in exasperation. “No one's going to believe this when I tell them…”

The final straw came at that moment. A pain erupted in his lower regions, and he looked down to see a feather duster in between his legs. He cringed. However...now he could feel breath against his neck...he could finally get this son of a bitch back!

Just as Drummer was about to face his tormentor, the feather duster was pulled back. The unknown character began whacking him with, not just one, but  _ two _ feather dusters. Not only that, but every time he tried to swing around to face them, they disappeared. Only to reappear behind him once more.

He couldn’t take it anymore, and soon, he allowed himself to be chased down the hall. The assault against him didn’t end until he collided with something, causing him to fall back. He looked up to see his squad leader.

“Danny, something’s chasing me!” Drummer tried to explain.

“Drummer, something’s chasing  _ me _ !” Danny merely replied back, before heading down the way Drummer came.

“Wait, Danny, that way is-” But he stopped.

Coming from the same direction that Danny had come from, was a bright yellow glow. Drummer gasped when a small form, engulfed in the glow, turned the corner. He brought his gun up to shoot several rounds. They all hit, but the  _ thing _ showed no sign of being effective.

“Fuck.”

Drummer soon found himself bolting after his squad leader.

* * *

“Well damn,” Jeffrey whistled at what he found. “Hughs would love this place.”

Awhile after getting lost, Private Jeffrey Jones discovered an expansive library. To him, it almost felt like the walls themselves were bookshelves. And it was so  _ huge _ ! The private wondered if he had somehow gone to a sub-level floor, because this place looked bigger than the exterior of the mansion. Maybe even bigger than the total parts of the mansion he had explored prior.

The blond couldn’t help but walk further into the library. He knew he should be trying to find the rest of his squad, but something about the mystique of the place drew him in.

“Ha, if only I had a trail of crumbs,” he joked to himself. “Or a map.”

Jeffrey got close to one of the dozens of bookshelves to examine the books. He furrowed his brows when they were revealed to be tomes.

“Magic books? What kind of research did the people do here?”

He went to the next shelf over. One particular book caught his eye. A bestiary. He took it off and opened to a random page, but was surprised at the contents.

“‘Sprites’?”

He read through the page, but found that the information about the little fae creatures was written seriously. He put the book back and kept going.

The next book he would investigate was one that he found left on a table. It was open to a page about “Vivid Veil”; a spell that causes a target’s appearance to be obstructed by a glow. This just confused him. Jeffrey liked magic tricks, of course, but those were simply deception.  _ This _ book treated its spell as a real thing to cast.

“There has to be something I’m missing here...maybe I’m just in the Fantasy section?”

Jeffrey continued through the library. He wasn’t sure how long it had been since he got there, but he discovered a vast variety of literature. While he kept coming across strange titles, he also found many that were more grounded and realistic. He even found titles and authors he recognized as being “classics”; those from centuries ago and beyond. The owner of this library certainly liked the old stuff...unless those were passed down over the years. That seemed like a good explanation. It also explained why there seemed to be more books than there were days in a person’s lifetime.

Eventually, though, it wasn’t just books that caught Jeffrey off guard. After setting a book back into its spot, he looked back the way he came...And found he was close to the entrance. Widening his eyes, he looked around, and even found the table with the open book.

“What the-?! Did I not notice I went in a circle?!

He shook his head. He hadn’t taken that many turns, and he made sure to go in the same direction. This couldn’t have been possible. The library’s walls suggested it was either a square or rectangular room, not circular. How did he make his way back here without noticing?

A growl interrupted his thoughts. Jeffrey turned to face the source.

His eyes couldn’t believe it. There was a magic circle, glowing on the floor! Emerging from it was a hellish canine, looking viciously at him. He quickly realized, just as the feet of the beast appeared, that he should probably run.

The marine high-tailed it out of the library. He had a brief thought to close the door, in an attempt to slow the beast down by even a second. However, he heard the door slam behind him.

_ “And stay out…” _

He heard a faint voice in his head. It sounded female-which was unlike his usual mental voice.

He also couldn’t hear anything from the beast, so he took that as a cue that it was safe to stay put. Jeffrey turned around to find that, indeed, the door had closed. Against his better judgement, he tried the doorknob. Or at least, he went to try it. But his palm felt a fierce, radiating heat from the metal, and he decided not to burn his hand.

Sighing, Jeffrey ran a hand through his hair.

“They’re going to think I’m making it up…” he said to himself. “A huge ass library with magic books and it’s own Cerberus?  _ I  _ don’t even believe myself.”

“GHOST!” A sudden shout rang.

“GHOOOOST!!” another one came.

Confused, Jeffrey turned, and found Danny and Drummer running towards him.

“Guys, what are you-“

And then he saw the glowing figure chasing them.

“OH SHIT!”

Unfortunately, the flight-or-fight instinct kicked in before Jeffrey could recall the spell he had read about earlier that eerily seemed similar to this “ghost”.

* * *

Lance Corporal Hughs Goldworth banged violently against the front door, calling out to his squad mates.

“Corporal!  _ Corporal _ !”

The sound of the brush moving behind him caused Hughs to turn around in a flash and aim his weapon. However, he paused when he saw who, or more like  _ what _ , had arrived.

“Human?” a Sangheili in claret armor tilted his head.

He sighed. “Just one of you...” He slowly put his gun back. “I’m sorry, thought you were the Covenant.”

“No need to apologize. I understand.” 

The alien turned his head back, calling out words unfamiliar to Hughs. Coming out of the woods behind the claret Elite were two others of his kind. One was an Ultra, in the typical white armor variant, and the other was a regular blue Minor. The Ultra regarded Hughs with a disinterested look.

“You are one of the missing humans, yes?” it asked in a deep and accented voice.

Hughs nodded. “The rest of my squad is inside, but the door refuses to budge.”

The Ultra huffed in an amused manner. Hughs knew he was probably being seen as weak, but the Sangheili would soon learn enough. Said warrior went up to take his turn trying to knock down the door.

Only, just as the marine had said, it would not budge.

As the Ultra grew more agitated, the claret one stepped forward to speak to Hughs.

“What occurred prior to our arrival?” he asked.

“Well, we took shelter inside,” Hughs began. “I stood guard on the other side of this door, while the others traveled inside the mansion. While I waited for them to return, I saw something out here through the window, and stepped out to investigate. But the door immediately slammed shut behind me, leaving me locked outside. I haven’t heard anything from my squad since we split up.”

“You saw something?” the Minor stepped forward.

“Yes, a figure in green.”

“The Demon?” the Ultra paused his unsuccessful assault on the door.

“No, it wasn’t green armor. She wore green clothing…”

“So it was female?”

“Yes...but I haven’t seen any sign of her, so I’m not sure if I really saw anything…” Hughs admitted.

The Ultra took one last look at the front door, before sighing. “I will admit, the material appears weak, but it is truly formidable.”

“Is there another way in?” the claret Sangheili asked.

“Possibly…” Hughs said. “Haven’t checked yet.”

“Then let us search.”

* * *

Meanwhile, a pair of scarlet eyes watched the four figures from an upper window. The eyes narrowed in intrigue at the three who had just arrived. She slowly backed away, and pulled the curtains to close off the view once more.

“Sakuya…” the small mistress of the Scarlet Devil Mansion said softly. “Perhaps we should let them back in...I’ve grown curious now.”

There was a long silence, before another person appeared in a flash inside the room.

“It has been done, mistress.”

“Good…” the girl paused. “Sakuya...were there not  _ five _ humans that entered the manor…?”

“Yes, I believe there were.”

“Yet...so far the reports from the staff and Patchouli have kept track of four...where is the fifth one…?”

They both paused, before a sudden dread sunk in.

“When was the last time someone heard from Flandre?” Remilia demanded.

* * *

Private Anzu Takamura finally reached the bottom of the flight of stairs she had discovered in her old mansion adventure. A door awaited her. A sign was on it, seemingly a warning label. However, despite Anzu’s ancestry, she never had the chance to learn how to read kanji.

“Now, judging by the use of the red coloring for some of these characters…” Anzu said to herself. “There must be something dangerous on the other side…”

With a smile, she opened the door. Taking a stride inside, she found herself in a bedroom. A child’s bedroom, to be exact. She could infer this by all the stuffed animals and toys scattered around, which mostly consisted of broken ones.

But to call it a bedroom would be, technically, misleading. Because Anzu did not find a bed in this room. Instead, at the center of the furthest wall, was a coffin. This caused an uncharacteristic unease inside the woman.

_ Is this...a memorial…? To a dead child…? Maybe I shouldn’t have entered… _

The realization of the mistake only grew with what happened next. Much to Anzu’s surprise, the top of the coffin slowly opened. Inside was a little blonde girl in a red dress and mobcap. Her arms were crossed against her chest, in a way that reminded Anzu of pictures of ancient buried pharaohs.

And then, the supposed dead girl’s eyes  _ opened _ .

The red eyes blinked a few times, before the head of the girl turned to face Anzu. The woman felt her blood run cold. However, the little girl regarded her with curiosity.

“Um...h-hello…?” the marine managed to get out.

“Hi.” the girl said back.

“Uh…nice coffin.”

The girl smiled. “Thanks. Big sis got it for me a few decades ago...she said it was the kind that kings and queens were buried in.”

This odd statement, added with all the other clues in this whole situation, only made Anzu gulp.

“You...you’re a…”

* * *

“Vampire?” The claret Sangheili tilted his head at Hughs. By now, he knew him as Usze ‘Taham.

Earlier, the door had mysteriously opened, just as they had planned to search around the sides of the building for another entrance. Confused, the four went inside, and since then they’ve been looking for Hughs’ squadmates.

The marine in question hadn’t taken notice of the decor of the manor earlier, but now he was being peppered with questions by Usze and the Elite Minor named Lul ‘Ludam. Thankfully, the Ultra, Koro ‘Chantak, was not very interested in learning human culture.

The most recent question had to do with the paintings they kept seeing on the walls. Based on the repetitive imagery of fangs, claws, and wings, Hughs had believed most were of vampires.

“What is a...vampire?” Lul asked; his pronunciation weaker than Usze’s.

“A supernatural creature in human culture,” Hughs explained simply. “They’re mostly associated with burning in sunlight, transforming into bats, and drinking blood.”

The drinking blood part seemed to cause all three Sangheili to stiffen.

“They  _ what _ ?!” Koro demanded.

“Drink blood?” the human raised an eyebrow. “It’s usually depicted as sinking their fangs into a target’s neck.”

Koro muttered something angrily in his native language, causing Hughs to give the other two a confused look.

“Blood is sacred in our culture,” Usze explained. “Losing blood is akin to losing one’s honor. To Koro, these vampires are honor-thieves.”

“Ah, well, no need to worry. They’re just made-up monsters.”

“If you say so…”

The conversation ended when the Sangheili heard something in the distance. Leading the human man towards a new direction, he could start to hear the sound of panting for himself. They entered a new hall and found the three other men of the squad.

“Hughs? What are you doing here?” Danny asked.

“Looking for you, Corporal!” Hughs said. “I was temporarily locked out of the mansion and grew concerned.”

“Huh, how did you get locked out? We haven’t been at the front door since we first left you.”

“I don’t know, but it opened soon after.”

Jeffrey groaned. “This place is fucking me up, man…”

“Are you humans okay?” Usze asked. “You seem to be exhausted.”

The men finally looked up and noticed the Elites.

“We were getting chased,” Drummer explained. “But whatever it was isn’t around anymore.”

“Chased? By what?” Koro asked.

“Ah, shit man, it must’ve been a ghost…” Jeffrey said. “It was glowing, and flying, and our bullets didn’t hurt it…”

“I’m sorry,” Hughs looked skeptical. “A  _ ghost _ ?”

“Don’t give me that, Hughs. You didn’t go through the shit we did.”

“Uh-huh...and what does Private Takamura have add to that?”

The Lance Corporal didn’t believe in ghosts, and considering he didn’t see the woman among them, he almost wanted to believe this was some elaborate prank. Then again, he had his own experience with the door and the lady in green. But those could also be explained, given a better investigation.

“Anzu…” Drummer thought. “I don’t think any of us found her yet.”

Jeffrey whined. “Ohhh…we’re gonna have to go look for Annie.”

Hughs couldn’t help but snicker. “Don’t fret, Private; I’m sure one of the Elites will hold your hand.”

“Oh fuck you.”

“Alright, alright; stop teasing each other in front of the aliens,” Danny said. He looked at their allies. “We still have a member missing, and this place is huge.”

Lul nodded. “We will help you find her.”

“But it was easy for us to lose each other, so we should really stay close together.” He gave Drummer and Jeffrey a side glance. “Not to mention we still have at least one hostile roaming here.”

Before Hughs could further mock his comrades, the Ultra held a hand up.

“What is it?” Drummer asked.

“Small...laughter…” Koro said. He looked down the hall. “In that direction.”

Jeffrey’s heart beat. That was the way they came. The direction of the ghost.

His attempt to go the other way was thrashed by his squad leader dragging him by the scruff of his shirt.

“Nooooo…”

* * *

The towering monster that was Werraeus looked down at the Kig-Yar scouts that had returned. Most of the enemy troops had hidden themselves well, but the finding of three pairs of Sangheili footsteps excited him. He still had a pack to lead, though, so he had sent a few lessers to see if it was worth their time.

“What do you have for me?” the Jiralhanae captain wasted no time getting to business.

“There were indeed three Sangheili breaking away.” one scout said.

“But there was also a human,” his partner said. “And word of more in the area.”

“How many more?” Werraeus asked with a slight growl of excitement.

“It used the term ‘squad’, so perhaps not many.”

“They hid in one of their housings.” The first added.

“Then we shall hunt them down and burn it,” Werraeus declared. He barked at the rest of his troops, and urged the scouts to lead them to their discovery. “For the Glory of the Covenant, and our pack!”

* * *

Hong Meiling squinted at the sight she was seeing.

“Uh...Patchouli…?” she said nervously.

The powerful witch groaned. “What is it  _ now _ , Meiling?”

“I think we’re getting more intruders…”

“Then we’ll just charm more fairy maids to deal with them! Seriously, why do you sound so nervous?!”

“Because those are  _ not _ human trespassers.”

Confused, Patchouli went to the window that Meiling was looking through. Then, she gasped.

Trudging up to the manor were several massive ape-like beasts. Along with them were two bird-like creatures leading them, and at least two dozen smaller creatures wearing air tanks. All of them were armed with some type of gun; all unfamiliar variants at that.

“Well what are you standing in here for?!” Patchouli demanded.

“Sakuya just wanted me to draw out one of the humans!” Meiling shouted back. “And Remilia said I might draw more attention to the manor if I stayed out there!”

Patchouli sighed, realizing that was true. They were supposed to have been transported to Yumekyo on one of the humans’ colonies, a land that Remilia had deemed perfect for vacation. However, some still unknown individual(s) had fudged Patchouli’s runes without her realizing until it was too late. Because of them disappearing not long after they arrived  _ here _ , she was uncertain of where they had ended up. As she was still recovering from transporting the entire mansion and its many inhabitants, Patchouli did not have the strength to return them to Gensokyo. She couldn’t even put up a barrier to conceal them, at least not today.

Now it seemed they had more than humans to worry about.

“Well, at least make yourself useful and notify Remilia and Sakuya!” Patchouli finally said.

The redhead nodded, and went to find the two.

* * *

Anzu allowed herself to be led by the vampiric girl that had introduced herself as Flandre Scarlet. Despite the nerve-wracking introduction, she found that the blond vampire was just like a little human girl. She was playful, and prone to being curious.

It took some quick explaining that she wasn’t a toy, that humans were very delicate, and that she was lost; but eventually she convinced Flandre to give her a tour rather than “play with her, and maybe she’ll last longer than the dolls”, as the girl had put it. And while it was apparent that Flandre had some kind of troubling power and lacked the maturity to control it...she didn’t actually sound like a bad girl. She just wanted to play, just like any other kid would. She was also surprisingly polite.

During their walk, Anzu learned that the mansion belonged to Flandre’s older sister, Remilia. Izayoi Sakuya was the head maid, and the only human. Hong Meiling was a youkai that was hired as the gatekeeper, Patchouli Knowledge was a witch that served as the resident librarian, Koakuma was Patchouli’s commonly summoned assistant, and Tupai was their pet chupacabra. Other than them, there were numerous fairy maids employed to the manor. They originally lived in a land known as Gensokyo, but very recently Flandre felt the mansion being transported by a spell. That probably explained why Anzu’s squad had come across the place in the forest.

But the thing that made Anzu the most sympathetic with the girl was hearing how she was kept in the basement. She hardly ever got to go outside, and the only times she had company was when someone visited her. Even though Anzu could figure this was for her own safety, as she was a vampire weak to sunlight and with a destructive power, the human couldn’t help but want to do something for her. So, she found herself vowing to Flandre that she’d show her the new surroundings and find a source of entertainment for her.

But first, she had to find the other members of her squad, whom she had not seen in a while. They were probably concerned for her wellbeing, and she didn’t want them to worry long. Plus, they were still in the middle of a war with genocidal aliens.

Flandre was laughing as she told Anzu of her own past. Currently, she was remembering some fond memories regarding a one-sided rivalry between Sakuya and a “blue-white” shrine maiden.

“After the incident regarding the amanojaku,” Flandre went on in her reminiscing. “Sakuya seemed so pleased with herself. She even had a souvenir from the incident delivered to that shrine on the mountain with a passive-aggressive note.”

“It seems it’s not just your sister who has charisma breaks.” Anzu giggled. 

Flandre gave a nod, but soon had her attention drawn. She stared down the hall in front of them.

“What is it…?” Anzu asked.

“People…” Flandre mumbled. “There’s people coming…”

“Ah, must be my squad. C’mon, Flan!”

Flandre shook her head.

“What is it? Are you nervous to see them? They’re alright…”

“Not human.”

Anzu went cold, before quickly pulling out her gun and putting it out in front of her.

“Flan,” she ordered seriously. “Start walking back the way we came.”

“Okay…”

The vampire began walking back as Anzu stood her ground, waiting for the “not humans” to enter her field of vision. However, a shout from behind caused her to change plans. She rushed back.

“Flan?! Are you ok?!” she shouted.

There, she found said girl floating in the air as her hands messed with Sangheili mandibles. The rest of her squad, and the two other Elites with them, held their guns in shock. They seemed unsure of how to respond to the situation; especially the Sangheili Minor on the receiving end of Flandre’s curiosity.

“Ah, Flandre, don’t harass the Elites!” Anzu scolded.

“Uh, Private, mind explaining…?” her squad leader said.

“Oh, this is Flandre. She’s a vampire I found in the basement.”

The Ultra of the group nearly snarled. “This is one of the honor-stealers?!”

“Eh?” Flandre tilted her head at the Ultra, temporarily stopping her exploration of the Minor. “Steal?”

“He means drinking blood.” Hughs said.

“Uh, do you?” Jeffrey added.

Flandre nodded giddily. “Mhm! And eat flesh!”

Anzu facepalmed. “That...that’s not helping…”

Hughs looked back at her. “Private, what’s preventing us from shooting?”

“How about the fact physical attacks won’t work?”

“Yeah, Hughs!” Jeffrey said. “You need, like, garlic and crosses!”

Meanwhile, the Sangheili Minor was examining the vampire back. “It...it is a child?”

“Uh, depends on how you look at it…” Anzu said sheepishly. “If she wasn’t exaggerating, then she’s at least 1,000 years old by now.”

“I don’t lie!” Flandre huffed.

Hughs turned back to the other men of the squad. “Well, I suppose I don’t have reason to disbelieve your haunted house claims anymore.”

“Haunted house?” Anzu asked.

“Oh, Annie, we got chased by a ghost earlier!” Jeffrey cried.

“A ghost?” Flandre asked. “When did big sis invite one of them over?”

“You mean there’s more crazy shit here?!”

“I’m surprised we haven’t come across any of the fairies,” Anzu said. “There’s supposed to be lots of them acting as maids.”

“Fairies…?” Danny furrowed his bow. He thought long and hard, before saying, “How big?”

“Most are as big as me!” Flandre said.

He paused. “So...that might have been a  _ fairy _ that chased us.”

Flandre laughed. “But they’re so  _ weak _ !”

“Hey, our bullets weren’t working,” Jeffrey defended. “Of course we were scared!”

Drummer then interrupted, “Hey, what’s wrong?”

The others turned to the Sangheili, who were the target of Drummer’s question.

The claret one spoke up, “The stench of Brutes.”

Anzu’s eyes widened. “Shit, I forgot! Flan sensed something not human earlier; that must be Covies!”

The group then heard the sounds of Jiralhanae roaring. Surprisingly, the Sangheili Minor got in front of Flandre defensively. Anzu didn’t have time to tell him how unnecessary that was, as the others made their way to the source.

* * *

They were just in time to see the final Brute fall, while a silver-haired maid closed her pocket watch. She turned to the shocked soldiers, but only paid attention to Flandre.

“Young mistress, you shouldn’t be out of your room.” the maid said.

“But Sakuyaaaaaa!” the vampire whined in response.

The marines and Sangheili, meanwhile, stared down at the Covenant corpses. All of them were effectively turned into pin-cushions; each having a varying amount of knives stuck into them.

“I’m sorry…” Danny said. “But...what?”

“She took them all down with simple knives?” Usze asked in disbelief.

“...Is she available to be hired?” Jeffrey asked, only to receive a harsh look from Danny and Hughs.

“Apologies, but I only serve Mistress Remilia,” Sakuya said. “Who has also ordered me to retrieve the lot of you.”

“Ah shit, she’s not upset about the barging in uninvited, is she?” Danny asked.

“Typically she would; but since you provided a bit of entertainment for herself and the staff, she’s decided to let it slide.”

The marines sighed in relief.

“Normally we would offer some time for tea,” Sakuya continued. “But some of our fairies have spotted troops in the distance. You still have a battle to fight, correct?”

“That’s right,” Danny nodded. He turned to his men. “Alright, visiting time’s over. We should be regrouping with the rest of the platoon.”

“Sorry for intruding.” Drummer bowed his head.

“Just don’t do it again. And no word of this, either. Appearing here was an accident, and we would rather not have unwanted attention as a result.”

“How would we even write a report about this?” Hughs asked.

“I see your point…” Sakuya turned to the blond vampire. “Come on, Flandre; Meiling has been ordered to watch over you while we figure this out.”

During the conversation, Flandre had seemed disappointed the fun was over. But at the mention of the Chinese-dressed lady, she clapped her hands and floated off. Before completely leaving, however, she turned around and curtsied. Anzu waved back while Lul bowed his head.

Sakuya then led the soldiers back to the front entrance. Drummer glared at her back, after spotting some familiar feather dusters at her waist. He didn’t speak up about it, though.

* * *

As they walked outside and away from the mansion, Danny couldn’t help but look back over his shoulder.

In the furthest window on top was the same blunette in many of the paintings he saw earlier, watching them leave. Her red eyes glinted in amusement, before pulling the curtains over the window.

“I’m gonna need a few drinks after this.”

“Agreed!”


	6. October 5th - Hay Rides (Halo)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Sangheili struggle to understand the humans' tradition of parading their children around in wagons of straw.

“But...what is the purpose?” N’tho Sraom tilted his head in confusion at the humans before him.

“Uh...fun?” the human known as Private Jeffrey Jones shrugged. “Does there have to be a deep reason?”

“It just sounds…”

“Like a waste of time and resources.” Zealot Xesa ‘Konom finished.

Earlier in the hour, the sounds of vehicles moving caused several Sangheili to go outside the base and investigate. There, they found many of the human marines setting up movable containers of hay to be attached to their “Warthogs”. Curious, the Sangheili began asking questions, and soon learned of the autumn season tradition of “hay rides”. It seemed that to boost up morale in both the troops and civilian population, the marines had volunteered to give the nearby children these hay rides.

“It’s not!” Jeffrey nearly pouted. Fellow private, Poppy Flanders, patted him on the back.

Another, Weslley Washington, said, “Well, it makes people happy, so we do it.”

“But what gives anyone an idea to do something like that?” Usze ‘Taham asked.

“I don’t know...it’s just been tradition?”

“There’s probably some origin story,” Lance Corporal “Drummer” said as he finished hooking the last wagon. “But it’s been so long, it might have been forgotten.”

Other marines began loading themselves onto either a Warthog or wagon. Gunnery Sergeant Yevdokia Amosova barked for the stragglers to hop on or get left behind. This effectively caused the aliens’ small company to leave them. One of the riders of a wagon, Lance Corporal Bill Allen, looked over at the Sangheili.

“Going to join in?” he asked.

The warriors looked at each other, before Usze stepped closer.

“I believe I will,” he said. “I am not sure about the others…”

“I will, too!” Minor Lul ‘Ludam followed after his claret friend.

The rest decided to sit out. Usze and Lul both took seats at the back of different Warthogs, not wanting to cause too much additional weight to the wagons.

Soon, the remaining Elites watched the vehicles drive off.

* * *

The few dozen children stared at Usze and Lul in mostly curiosity and awe. The marines had been worried that the kids would be scared, but that seemed to be a minority reaction. They decided to attribute it to the fact that the ones they picked up ranged from not living in an area attacked by Covenant before, or being too young to ever remember it.

It didn’t matter, as the children soon became distracted by the ride itself. Some of the marines talked to them, too, and told them exaggerated tales from the battlefield. The two Sangheili watched as the young humans laughed, talked, and stared.

After an hour had passed, some of the children became more comfortable with the presence of the aliens. They both happily took on questions about their kind, and even asked some of their own. Lul looked at Jeffrey, who was sitting in the wagon being pulled from the Warthog the former was sitting in.

“I believe I’m starting to see,” the Minor said. “Why you humans do things just for enjoyment.”

Jeffrey smiled. “It feels good, doesn’t it?”

The Sangheili nodded, but then found that his body swayed. The Warthog had stopped. Drummer, who was also sitting in the wagon, called out to the driver.

“Hey, what happened?” he asked loudly.

The driver, Lance Corporal Hughs Goldsworth, replied back, “It stopped working...it might be the engine. Hold on while I look.”

The kids in their wagon watched as the other Warthogs towed their own wagons pass them. Usze himself decided to hop off his ride to stay with his brother-in-arms. A few marines from other vehicles called out questions.

“Don’t worry about us!” Corporal Danny Mann, who sat in the passenger seat, always called back. “Just keep going! We’ll catch up when she starts moving again!”

After all the other hayriders had driven out of view, Hughs finally had a diagnosis.

“Battery died,” he said. “We’re not going to be getting anywhere anytime soon.”

“What?” Danny asked. “I thought the engineers were constantly on these puppies. How’d it slip pass?”

Jeffrey bit his lip in realization. “I... _ may _ ...have picked...the wrong ‘Hog?”

The rest of his squad stared at him deadpan.

“I was getting impatient!”

Danny sighed. “Well, now we’re stuck here. How far are we from base, Hughs?”

“Five miles, at least,” he answered. “A long walk for children, to be sure.”

A ginger-haired girl poked Private Anzu Takamura’s shoulder. “Ms. Private? Are we still going to tour the countryside?”

“Of course, sweetie,” the woman answered. “We’re just having a bit of trouble, but we’ll fix this, okay? So you kids just wait a little longer.”

Usze and Lul watched the kids sympathetically. They had just finally gotten to see young smiles and hear children’s laughter from their former enemy. They were already familiar with the crying and screaming of human children, and they did not want those kinds of memories surfacing again. This was supposed to be a fun event!

The claret-armored one turned to Danny. “I believe I have an idea...but I cannot guarantee it will work out.”

“Anything to keep our hearing intact,” the Corporal muttered. “What do you have in mind?”

“Allow me to send a message back to base.”

* * *

Nearly an hour later, a turret-less Spectre arrived on scene. It was driven by Field Marshal Theda ‘Koralai, while its passengers included N’tho, Xesa, and Ultra Koro ‘Chantak. The alien vehicle stopped right next to the Warthog.

Usze nodded his head to the Field Marshal. “I am grateful for your swift arrival, Excellency.”

Theda just lifted a hand to silence him. “No need for thanks. We simply cannot have human younglings open to a Brute ambush, now can we?”

“Sorry for the trouble, though, Field Marshal.” Danny apologized.

“I will admit, your human customs are strange to us. However, I do not forget the traditions of my own people. If any of those ceremonies had been interrupted by complications, I would too be reasonably upset.”

“Well, we’re still going to repay this somehow.” He gave a side glare at Jeffrey. “Preferably,  _ he will _ .”

Theda merely gave a guttural chuckle.

After only a few minutes, the dead Warthog was attached to the Spectre via cables. N’tho relinquished his seat in the Spectre so that Hughs could give the Field Marshal directions on where to drive. Soon, both Warthog and wagon were being pulled by the formerly Covenant vehicle.

“Heh, it’s almost like a train.” Jeffrey laughed.

“Hey,” one of the children spoke up, looking at the three Sangheili on the Warthog. “Do you guys have trains?”

Lul gave an amused head tilt. “Well, we don’t call them  _ trains _ …”

Meanwhile, Xesa looked back at the human vehicles they were dragging.

“Still uneasy?” Koro asked, snapping Xesa back into attention.

“I still find this a gross misuse of a Spectre.” He answered.

“Hm...I also find it hard to understand...but the Field Marshal was right in his reasoning. Would we not want the same, if the roles were reversed?”

Xesa gave another glance at the passengers they were hauling around. He saw the human children clapping and gasping at whatever his brethren were explaining to them, while the UNSC marines smiled along. One small female with curls happened to lock eyes with him, and he tried to convince himself the double hand wave was just a coincidental gesture.

His head quickly spun back around, as he hunched his shoulders; almost like a shelled creature attempting to hide itself.

“Pitiful whelps…” he mumbled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can kinda tell the Oct. 4th one still has me burned out...however, I quite enjoy the idea of exploring joint-species areas and how the different populations react to each other. You can expect this kind of theme to pop up a few more times in this collection.


	7. October 6th- Raking Leaves (Touhou)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cirno and Daiyousei learn the value of hard work.

On one October day, two fairies were currently sailing through the air of Gensokyo. No, it was not because they were flying. They simply were unfortunate enough to be forcefully ejected from the Human Village by Reimu Hakurei; a yin-yang orb each swatting them like baseballs.

Why were Cirno and Daiyousei in the Human Village in the first place, you might ask? Well, it had come to Cirno’s attention that the Three Fairies of Light were boasting of three precious figurines in their possession; a sun, a moon, and a star. Feeling jealous, Cirno had vowed to get herself a snowflake figurine that would out-glisten her rivals’  _ toys _ .

And to her credit, she had found one. A human artisan offered, despite the species difference. However, there was just one problem. He required a payment that they simply did not have, as fairies never needed to possess currency. Why would they?

They ended up making a scene, causing the humans to call upon the Hakurei shrine maiden, and thus they were in their current situation. Face first in the dirt with their backsides sore. Daiyousei pulled herself up first.

“I think we just have to give up on it, Cirno,” she sighed. “Without currency, we can’t get it.”

Cirno’s head burst from the ground. “Then we  _ steal _ it!”

“Are you crazy?! Even if they  _ don’t _ expect us, Reimu will quickly figure out what we did and exterminate us-big time!”

“Hmph, so we gotta do this the human way...fine. How do we get currency?”

“Um...I believe the humans...do labour in exchange for payment?” Daiyousei thought.

“Labour?!” Cirno shook her head. “But that’s  _ boring _ ! Not to mention hard!”

“I guess that’s what makes currency so valuable…”

Cirno sighed and thought about it. “You sure there’s no other way?”

“Not any that don’t risk us getting beaten up.” Daiyousei paused. “Doesn’t the Scarlet Devil Mansion near Misty Lake hire fairies? That’s a good place to start for us.”

However, the ice fairy rapidly shook her hands and head. “No no no no NO! I’ve already heard enough horror stories from poor saps that had to work there! We’d be better off volunteering in Hell!”

Daiyousei tried again. “The Ministry of Right and Wrong? I think Lily White worked with a yama once...or dressed like her...something like that?”

“Work with the yama? They’re so uptight, though!”

“I guess we’re being a little picky with our options, then…” the green-haired fairy shook her head in exasperation. “Well, I’m out of ideas! What do we do, then?”

Cirno thought for a moment, before an idea came to her.

* * *

“Work for me?!” Reimu Hakurei exclaimed at the two fairies in front of her. They both nodded. “Gods,  _ no _ !”

“What?! Why not?!” Cirno demanded.

“ _ Why _ would I do that?” Reimu crossed her arms. “Fairies are nothing but trouble, even when they don’t intend it. It’s my job to  _ exterminate _ you, not help you. And what would I even have you do?”

“We could be assistant youkai hunters!” Cirno beamed.

“Or assistant shrine maidens!” Daiyousei added.

“Ha,  _ yeah right _ . I’m not even convinced this  _ isn’t _ the set-up to another fairy trick. I’ve already had to deal with you two once today.”

The two pouted, realizing the shrine maiden wouldn’t budge. That was when Daiyousei got an idea.

“Yeah, we did cause trouble for the humans…” she admitted, as she clicked her heels together in shame. “But...if you don’t give us work for currency...we’ll just have to do it again!”

“Now you’re threatening me?” Reimu raised an eyebrow. “You realize I can just exterminate you again?”

“Yeah, but you can save yourself the trouble. All we want is that figurine. If you supply us with the currency to buy it peacefully, then everyone is happy without a fight.”

“Yeah, that’s right!” Cirno agreed.

Reimu had to admit, that was a good point. It might do more good than harm to humor the two. And if things went wrong still, no one could say Reimu hadn’t  _ tried _ . She just had to pick a task that two fairies could handle; one that wouldn’t cause major problems if they somehow messed it up.

The shrine maiden looked around the shrine. In having to deal with the youkai exterminations of the day, she didn’t have time to clean up the outside. Multi-colored leaves that had fallen off the trees littered the ground and pathway. Breezes caused them to float away and scatter further.

“I have some rakes stored,” Reimu said at last. “If you can rake the leaves in the area in piles, I’ll pay for whatever you wanted to buy. But mess it up, and you can forget about it, understand?”

The two joyously nodded.

* * *

Reimu had been nervous about leaving the two fairies alone at the shrine. Several minutes into supervising their raking, Fujiwara no Mokou had arrived. The immortal human explained that some unruly youkai kept tricking humans into entering the Bamboo Forest of the Lost, and she was starting to have trouble keeping the situation under control.

Unfortunately, such a serious situation demanded her attention, so Reimu had no choice but to head over. She was now on the return trip home, dreading what could possibly have gone wrong in her absence. For all she knew, the fairies and youkai were in cahoots, and this was all an elaborate scheme to vandalize her shrine.

But, to her surprise, she found the opposite of a disaster. The leaves that had once covered the ground of the shrine had been organized into several large piles. Cirno and Daiyousei were floating in the air, admiring their handiwork.

Reimu floated down to their level, her face gaping in surprise. “You two...you actually…?”

“See, the great fairy Cirno can do  _ anything _ !” Cirno said with pride. Daiyousei cleared her throat. “And...Daiyousei helped a lot, too…”

“I...I guess I owe you, then…” Reimu’s body shivered just having to say that. “Let’s just get this over with…”

That day, Cirno’s new shining snowflake figurine wasn’t just great in appearance. She gleefully told all the story of how she acquired it, which made it just the more meaningful.

To the point that the Three Fairies of Light became jealous.

To the point that the other fairies were inspired.

To the point that all of Gensokyo was being plagued by an onslaught of fairy rakers, even when they weren’t hired to do so.

To the point that “raking leaves” were now put on the list of all the things fairies were banned to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kind of short. I'm getting a little rundown and sick. Not sure how that will affect this. I think I've learned after the Haunted House that nothing's wrong with just being simple and sweet.


	8. October 7th - Playing Pranks (Halo x Touhou)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The weakest species in Gensokyo and the weakest species of space join forces for the ultimate prank!

“Don’t you think...that’s going too far?” Luna Child asked.

“I think it’ll be a fun idea to try!” Star Sapphire said in opposition.

“Then it’s settled, 2 to 1!” Sunny Milk smiled. “We’re going to make an alliance with the Unggoy for this next prank! And it will be a glorious prank, yeah!”

Star Sapphire cheered while Luna Child just sighed.

“I feel like the plan crosses a line, though,” the latter said. “Not to mention dangerous.”

“Yep!” Sunny Milk clapped. “Staking our lives on it; just like we always do!”

Star Sapphire patted Luna Child on the back. “Don’t worry! Cirno has this coming. If we don’t step up to the plate, someone else will.”

“Mhm! We’re  _ really _ going to show that ice fairy who’s boss this time!”

“If you insist…” Luna Child said. “But that’s  _ if _ we get the Unggoy on our side.”

“And we will! Who  _ wouldn’t  _ want to align with us?”

* * *

“You want to use our methane?!” one Unggoy asked incredulously. “Are you  _ crazy _ ?!”

“What? No!” Star Sapphire exclaimed.

“Just vengeful.” Sunny Milk added.

“But...methane  _ kill _ Earth creatures!” another Unggoy said.

“We know!” Star Sapphire smiled.

“And... _ we  _ need methane to breathe!” the last said.

“I was afraid that’d be the case…” Luna Child sighed.

“You can’t just spare a little?” Sunny Milk asked. “We don’t need  _ all _ of it. Just enough for our target to choke on it.”

“Now, me know we once went on genocidal campaign on humans…” the second Unggoy began. “But being accomplices to murder??”

“Me not sure about this…” the first said nervously.

“Oh come on!” Star Sapphire nudged them. “She’ll respawn afterwards. It’s just going to be a bit of a nuisance, that’s all.”

“If you say so…” the third Unggoy said.

“Perfect!” Sunny Milk clapped. “Now, let’s hurry this up; we want to catch her alone.”

* * *

An hour later, and the six pranksters were watching as a blue haired fairy slowly choked to death in a closed off room encased in methane. The Unggoy were shaking, Sunny Milk and Luna Child were holding back screams and tears of horror, and Star Sapphire was applauding. Cirno herself soon fell limp on the floor, her face frozen in a permanent look of terror for her life.

The evidence had been destroyed, but alas, it was for naught. They, for some reason, did not count on the revived Cirno ratting them out to Reimu, Lord Hood, and the Arbiter. All six of them were quickly, and fiercely, reprimanded. The fairies and aliens found themselves doing volunteer work in Hell.

“Since you pests wish to be so sadistic now, you can help the oni in their torture.” Reimu had put it.

The resulting nightmares had not been worth it.

And thus, fairies and Unggoy getting together without the supervision of another species was banned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I've come to terms that this is going to overlap into November. But that's alright...just as long as I get them all done.


	9. October 8th - Costume Shopping (Halo)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A plan is formed to get the Sangheili of a joint-species base into some Halloween costumes

Lul ‘Ludam wore the turtle shell and red wig with pride. As the final days of October were upon them, the humans were finalizing preparations for their “Halloween” celebration at the base. This included the tradition of wearing costumes, which Lul was eager to try. He was given many suggestions by the marines, and ultimately settled on a classic character known as “Bowser”.

His fellow diplomat, Usze ‘Taham, on the other hand, was a bit more skeptical.

“Lul…” Usze began. “I say this with the best of intentions and a great care for your wellbeing…”

“Yes?” he turned to the claret Sangheili.

“You look like a fool.”

“I’m not supposed to be a clown! I’m what the humans called a...coo…’Coop-ah’...?” Lul fumbled with the foreign word.

“You realize when the rest of our brothers see you, they will not be as forgiving as I am, correct?”

“Oh Usze! We’re allies with the humans now. We should bond with them whenever we get the chance, just like we would do with our own kind.”

“Our own kind do not do this.”

“Not  _ yet _ , at least…” Lul trailed off in thought.

Usze began to sense what he was thinking, and quickly tried to warn him. “If you even  _ try _ to put a wig on Koro or Xesa, it will be your head getting carved, not a vegetable.”

“So wigs are the limit…”

Usze sighed in exasperation.

* * *

Later that afternoon, Lul had shared his thoughts to the marines of the base. While some had their doubts, it was ultimately decided to try and convince the rest of their allies to dress up. With input from Lul, they deduced who would be the easiest to persuade and who would be the most resistant.

Out of that discussion, Operation: MELTING POT was born.

Moonlit Squad was tasked with who were seen as the easiest: Usze and the ‘Rotun twins. Their job was to covertly spark interest with conversation and demonstration. Once the three targets took the bait, they would spring the trap with a simple phrase: “You want to try?”

Koro ‘Chantak and Xesa ‘Konom would be the most difficult of the Sangheili, but they hoped pairing them up with N’tho ‘Sraom would lower their skepticism. That was Blink Squad’s task. To the Elites, it would at first appear to be a normal supply run. The trick would be getting them inside Party City without suspicions arising. From there, the challenge of finding a costume that interested them would begin. It all rode on the store having a decent stock.

The last of the targets of interest was the Field Master, Theda ‘Koralai. Lul was confident his superior didn’t need much convincing. The task of negotiating the costume idea, as well as continuing the decoration of the base, rested on Clockwork Squad.

And so, at 0900 hours the next day, the operation began.

* * *

The humans of Moonlit Squad had sent a training invitation over to them. As such, twin brothers Tapo and Tova ‘Rotun had no choice but to attend. This was an unspoken challenge, after all!

It was a slight surprise to find Usze ‘Taham also present in the training room, but they shrugged it off.

The shock they  _ could not _ get over, and neither could ‘Taham, was the sight of the humans when they finally arrived. They did not wear their normal UNSC Marine Corps uniforms. They did not even wear their usual “civilian clothes”. These outfits were different.

“What are you…” Tapo started.

“ _ Wearing _ ?” Tova finished.

“Ah, we didn’t have time to change, sorry.” Private Jeffrey Jones said.

“I told you we should’ve only done one round!” Lance Corporal Hughs Goldsworth scolded the rest of the squad.

“Whatever, just consider it…” their leader, Corporal Danny Mann, thought for a moment. “A training exercise. Practicing combat out of uniform!”

“Is that allowed?” Usze asked with a head tilt.

“Ah, it’ll be fine,” Private Anzu Takamura reassured him. “If Jonesy, Wes, and Billy can get away with the Hotdog Duels, a costumed training session should be fine.”

“If you insist…”

However, the twins still exchanged glances at each other. They almost seemed to be in a telepathic debate.

Tova finally spoke up. “But...what do they mean?”

“Hm?” Lance Corporal “Drummer” hummed in curiosity.

“Your outfits.”

“Oh, you mean what or who are we?” Drummer looked down at his costume, a colorful marching band outfit. “Well, mine is based off the Beatles; this  _ ancient _ British band.”

“I made a cardboard recreation of Master Chief’s armor!” Jeffrey said excitedly.

“I’m dressed as the legendary Sherlock Holmes.” Hughs explained.

“Uh...I just threw together one of those Star Trek uniforms…” Danny shrugged.

“And I’m a generic anime miko!” Anzu said.

All three Sangheili looked at each other in confusion.

“Okay maybe you need more context than that…” Danny said. “Alright, find a seat, this’ll take awhile…”

* * *

Getting the Sangheili to not notice the Party City logo was surprisingly easy. They simply did not care to check. It wasn’t until they heard a laughing skeleton prop from somewhere inside the store that they finally lifted their heads from the distracting conversation the humans had sprung on them and noticed their surroundings.

“Humans,” Koro began. “You told us this was a supply trip?”

“It is!” Private Weslley Washington insisted. “Clockwork Squad reported some of the Halloween stuff got displaced, so we have to get them more.”

“You said we were needed.” N’tho pointed out.

“Yeah, for the heavy stuff,” Lance Corporal Billy Allen said. “We can’t carry everything by ourselves.”

“I feel this is an inappropriate use of our service.” Xesa grumbled.

“Would you rather us ask the ‘Rotuns to help us?” Blink Squad leader, Sergeant Toski Pinca, asked.

“Gods,  _ no _ .”

“Then you’re helping.”

The Elites sighed, knowing they would be stuck with the humans for a little while.

Awkwardly, they shadowed the humans and tried to avoid the confused and nervous stares from the store’s staff. They were at first confused that one could buy human organs so easily, until one marine explained they were fake.

Koro stayed close to Private Poppy Flanders, as she was in a section far away from a particular “decoration” that bothered him. It was of some hanging heads talking in obnoxiously loud and static-y voices. He growled when one’s shout hammered at his ear drums, causing Poppy to look up.

“Are you okay?” the one-eyed blond asked.

“This building is just…” Koro began in an angry tone, but cooled himself as he saw the female’s genuine concern. “Disconcerting, to me.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I’ll try to make this fast, then.”

Koro decided to distract himself with the other, less noisy surroundings. They found themselves in a section with flashy technology and ships-all plastic, though. He looked at Poppy.

“What is this...aisle, for?” he asked, struggling with the human terms.

“This is the science fiction section.” she smiled.

Ah, that one oxymoron the humans threw around when reading books with pictures or their favorite “movies”. Thinking about it, he saw some things that were familiar with him.

Then he stopped at some of the pictures of creatures.

“And what are these?”

Poppy looked over, then froze herself when seeing what Koro was looking at.

“Oh…” she started nervously. “Those are...aliens... _ made-up _ ones, of course.”

Koro tilted his head as he examined the fictional aliens. “Were these made before, during, or after the war?”

“Before...actually, many of these were thought up centuries ago.”

He looked at one that was large and reptilian, with shoulder humps. “ _ This _ is what you thought you would find outside your homeworld?”

“Well, we weren’t sure if there was anyone else out there to begin with…” Poppy paused. “That’s a krogan, by the way. A race from the  _ Mass Effect _ series. Just some multiple choice video games made over 500 years ago.”

“Hm…”

Meanwhile, N’tho came up to Billy and Weslley, who were currently eyeing some lights on a shelf taller than them. He tapped his fingers onto Weslley’s shoulder, causing him to yelp. Both men whipped their heads to face him.

“I apologize,” N’tho said. “I did not mean to startle you. I was just going to ask if you needed assistance.”

“Oh, uh, yeah actually,” Billy said. “Can’t reach.”

“I noticed.”

N’tho grabbed the lights and handed them to the men, who were still a little shaken. They nodded and thanked him.

“I don’t understand it.” Weslley said before the Sangheili left.

N’tho stopped and turned back. “What is it?”

“How you can just sneak around so easily. You’re so much bigger than us; but we didn’t even hear you coming…”

“Well, I  _ was _ in the Special Operations.”

“Yeah, and what a ninja that makes you.” Billy remarked.

N’tho tilted his head in confusion.

“Alright, time for more lessons in Asian culture...no, you don’t have to run away, there’s no tentacles this time.”

Elsewhere, Xesa watched as Toski and her second, Corporal Maryvonne Brodeur, debated on yard decorations.

“I just feel that the Hell’s Kitchen display is too much for children,” Mary argued. “How messed up is it to show them people getting cooked by demons?”

“Isn’t the whole purpose of the whole holiday to scare people?” Toski asked back. “That sounds like an easy win to me.”

“They’re  _ screaming _ .”

“It’s fake.”

“The kids might think it’s real!”

“And it’ll scare ‘em straight. ‘Don’t commit crime if you can’t do the time.’”

“Sergeant, that’s going to give them nightmares!”

“I  _ wish _ my nightmares were as nice as that…”

Mary sighed and looked at Xesa. “And do you have anything to input?”

“Don’t ask him, he’s a biased party! He’s going to have to carry what we pick!”

Xesa stared at the display. “Which is the heaviest?”

“See, he’s just-wait, what?” Toski stared at him in confusion.

“Which one is heaviest?” Xesa repeated.

“I’m sorry-you  _ want _ to carry something that might crush you?”

Xesa fought the urge to laugh. “I will not be so easily defeated by plastic and wires. Give me something that I can  _ pretend _ to be a challenge.”

The two women looked at each other.

Mary gave it a thought, then had an idea. “How many terracotta soldier replicas do they have?”

“Mary, no…”

“Terracotta army?”

“ _ Mary _ .”

“Terracotta army!”

Toski groaned.

Xesa could not help but ask, “What does she mean by ‘terracotta army’?”

“Old legend about a king who buried himself with an army of terracotta soldiers,” Toski explained. “Probably got the idea thinking about how much of a samurai you are.”

“Samurai?”

“We’ll talk as we buy.” Mary said. “But I think you’ll take it as a compliment.”

* * *

By Halloween, Operation: MELTING POT had been a success. While further prying had to be done at Koro and Xesa’s expense, all the Sangheili soon found themselves in costumes. For the three that went to Party City, they dressed at what had taken their interest; Koro a krogan, N’tho a ninja, and Xesa a samurai.

The idea for the ‘Rotun twins to dress as a xenomorph and a Yautja came during one of the horror movie nights, while Usze himself chose a raptor out of “historical interest”. Meanwhile, Second Lieutenant Yevdokia Amosova had convinced Theda he suited the role of a Jedi Master.

It had been a strange sight for the humans of the base, as well as neighboring settlements. The aliens themselves had also needed to get used to the activity. But eventually, everyone had found their own entertainment.

For Tapo and Tova, that was scaring the shit out of people.

The two were then barred from horror costumes for the subsequent years.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now the updates are getting later and later...can't believe it's already the 16th, and I've only just now finished the 8th prompt. I'm definitely going to get a head start on my December ideas...
> 
> Also, fun fact: the "Hell's Kitchen" decoration Toski and Mary were arguing about is based on an actual decoration in a Party City that scared the crap out of me as a kid.


	10. October 9th - Halloween Parties (Touhou)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Special Report - Yukari Yakumo’s Party Tournament
> 
> Following Eientei’s successful “Halloween party” the previous year, debate has begun on where the next will be held.

** _Season 134_ **

** _Special Report - Yukari Yakumo’s Party Tournament_ **

_ Following Eientei’s successful “Halloween party” the previous year, debate has begun on where the next will be held _

_ Greetings Gensokyo! For this special report, the Bunbunmaru Newspaper has obtained exclusive press coverage rights for Yukari Yakumo’s “Party Tournament”. To start off, let’s review the background for why such an event has come to existence. _

_ Last year, Eientei unveiled an experimental celebration imported from the Outside World. Based on the already known Samhain festival, “Halloween” became increasingly popular with Gensokyo’s youth. The turn-out at Eientei’s party was also massive. Generally, the whole event was a big success. _

_ This had caught the attention of other influential residents of Gensokyo, and as the autumn season arrived, many had announced their intentions for their own parties. However, with the influx of party-holders, it became clear the population of party-goers would be smaller. To balance this, Yukari Yakumo stepped up to announce a solution: only one location could hold a party each year. _

_ To settle who would gain the right, the youkai sage prepared a tournament. After a preliminary trial, the remaining contestants must endure 3 tests to see who is worthy. The preliminary trial has already occurred. Our participants remaining include: Eientei, the Scarlet Devil Mansion, Hakugyokurou, the Moriya Shrine, and the Myouren Temple. Our judges include Yukari Yakumo and her two shikigami, Ran Yakumo and Chen. _

_ With introduction now out of the way, let’s begin with the events of the 1st test: Presentation! _

** _Eientei:_ ** _ Similar to last year, Kaguya Houraisan has proposed decorations of carved pumpkins and hanging kettle-corn. While Chen gave positive feedback on the edible decorations, the other two judges were not impressed by the lazy repetition. _

** _The Scarlet Devil Mansion:_ ** _ The vampiric theme of the mansion has been ramped up for Remilia Scarlet’s party ideas. More coffins, more blood, and more vampires - that is to say, all her staff would be dressed as vampires; not actually bringing more vampires. Chen and Ran approved the dedication to a single theme, though Yukari remarked she could have chosen something less obvious that would induce more work. _

** _Hakugyokurou:_ ** _ In a similar fashion, Yuyuko Saigyouji banked on theming her presentation on the dead. Ghosts hanging from the ceiling, skeletons plastered on the walls, and a mock graveyard to be constructed. Similar reactions to the last proposal followed. _

** _The Moriya Shrine:_ ** _ A harvest festival was at the center of Kanako Yasaka’s plans; as, in her words, it is intricately connected with the Halloween holiday. Eientei tried to call foul on the carved pumpkins, but Yukari reminded them that “jack-o-lanterns” were one of the key traditions, and therefore fairplay. The decorative plans were given pleasant reviews. _

** _The Myouren Temple:_ ** _ As for Byakuren Hijiri, she prided herself on a modest display of simple common traditions of Halloween. She noted that, to her, it was not the appearance of the party that was the true value, but the content of the night. While Ran commended Byakuren’s views, unfortunately, all three had to give low ratings due to the test’s basing of “Presentation”, which was lacking. _

_ The final scores of this test placed The Moriya Shrine in first place, with the Scarlet Devil Mansion and Hakugyokurou tied for second, and Eientei at third. From there, we moved on to the next test: Catering. _

** _Eientei:_ ** _ Despite the expectations of Chen, kettle corn was not on the menu for Eientei’s plans. However, she accepted the dishes of pumpkin pie, roasted pumpkin seeds, and pumpkin juice. Yukari praised the resourcefulness of using all parts of the supplies, while Ran simply called it lazy. _

** _The Scarlet Devil Mansion:_ ** _ Of course, all beverages for the Scarlet Devil’s party had to be red. She assured the judges no actual blood would served. As for food items, many meaty dishes would be available. Chen approved of the fish options, while Ran remarked how unfriendly the menu was to vegetarians. This then caused Yukari to question if any kind of person like that even existed in Gensokyo. _

** _Hakugyokurou:_ ** _ Yuyuko got more creative in her display of cuisine. Mock brains served in “head-themed bowls”, cookies frosted to look like ghosts, and milk to help strengthen guests’ bones. Ran was happy with the regard for health, while Chen was seen visibly gagging and worrying for her own health as a cat. Yukari was impressed with the realism of the brain dish, and just warned to not mix in any real brains. _

** _The Moriya Shrine:_ ** _ Keeping with the Harvest Fest theme, the shrine offered a variety of different vegetables of the autumn season. This included not only the stand-alone vegetables, but dishes featuring them with ingredients. The judges, once again, had to settle Eientei’s complaints regarding the pumpkins. As for their comments, Ran remarked this was the complete opposite of Remilia’s idea. Yukari questioned whether the gods of the shrine were actually the Aki sisters, but otherwise seemed fond of the dedication to theming. Chen seemed even more displeased with the “healthiness” of this menu. _

** _The Myouren Temple:_ ** _ The final entry seemed to fuse some of the virtues of the previous contestants. The options were varied between food groups, with clear ties to both the season and celebratory occasion. The decorations of the desserts were also pleasant. All three judges each had something nice to say for Byakuren. _

_ With the 2nd test over, the Myouren Temple made up their previous loss by coming in first. In second place, Hakugyokurou; and in third, Eientei. This then leads us to the final test: “Entertainment”. _

** _Eientei:_ ** _ Given the location of the mansion, as well as the timing, the main activity Kaguya has planned is a “moon viewing”. Ran, after noting that the moon on that day would be a “full blue moon”, decided to agree. Chen, however, was hoping for something more exciting. Yukari also scoffed and muttered something inaudible. _

** _The Scarlet Devil Mansion:_ ** _ The main event for this party is noted to be a costumed dance. Ran seemed on board with the idea while Chen and Yukari yawned in unison. _

** _Hakugyokurou:_ ** _ The activities here are, of course, death-themed. Besides a performance from the Prismriver sisters, guests can also expect a “zombie-tag”, “pin the tailbone on the skeleton”, and a parade of spirits. Yukari commended the creativity, Chen enjoyed the more playful attitude in these plans, and Ran merely liked the idea of all of the Netherworld chipping in. _

** _The Moriya Shrine:_ ** _ The shrine’s activities include hayrides and a corn maze, keeping with their Harvest Fest theme. Chen was excited, although Ran seemed concerned about hay fever. Yukari had nothing special to add. _

** _The Myouren Temple:_ ** _ The final entry includes a haunted cemetery tour and several stations for young guests to retrieve candy. Byakuren explains that she hopes to gain youkai volunteers for the haunted tour, in an attempt to make the event include both kinds of Gensokyo residents. This received praise from all three judges; Chen, in fact, gave double thumbs up for the Trick-or-Treat detail. _

_ The ranking of this final test: The Myouren Temple and Hakugyokurou tied for first, while everyone else tied for second. At this point, Yukari revealed how she would tally up to find the victors: 1st place is equal to 5 points, 2nd to 3 points, and 3rd equal to just 1. With that, the final scores are: _

** _Eientei - 5 points._ **

** _The Scarlet Devil Mansion - 6 points._ **

** _Hakugyokurou - 9 points._ **

** _The Moriya Shrine - 8 points._ **

** _The Myouren Temple - 10 points._ **

_ A close competition, but this year goes to the Buddhists. While the rest of the contestants were disappointed, they also congratulated Byakuren’s careful planning and expressed enthusiasm for the event. Yukari then closed the competition, granting the right to hold Gensokyo’s Halloween party to the Myouren Temple. _

_ So when October 31st rolls around, be sure to stop by the Myouren Temple for a grand event open to both humans and youkai! And if you are a youkai interested in volunteering in the scaring portions of the party, the cut-off date for applying is October 21st. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, now I have a thing for writing Bunbunmaru articles now.


	11. October 10th - Scary Movie Marathon (Halo)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A series of reactions to iconic horror/thriller movies by the Sangheili during a movie marathon.

_ Excerpt from Chapter XX: “Journey to the Ark” of  _ Complex Relationships with the Beyond Vol. 2 - The War  _ by [REDACTED AUTHOR NAME]. _

_ For nearly a month, UNSC and Seperatist forces were forced together in ships heading to the Ark. So far, relations between the two were shaky - the alliance was still very recent. However, interspecies bonding during this trip, in retrospect, would prove to be useful in forming crucial connections between the two. Had major hostility between the two factions occurred during the Battle of Installation 00, cooperation would have been few and far between, causing weak points in battle. As for the soldiers themselves, the cultural sharing of this trip was, unbeknownst to them, the first experiment to see if humanity and exterrastials could indeed coexist. _

_ In an interview with one squad, then Private First Class Weslley Washington, looked back fondly at one particular introduction to human culture: Movie Night. _

_ “We were going to be stuck in a tin can for weeks,” Washington informed reporters. “We needed to do >something< to pass the time.” _

_ “Civvies don’t always take note of the inbetweens in battles,” one of his squadmates, Lance Corporal Bill “Billy” Allen, added. “There’s gaps everywhere. And while you have the luxury of quickly skipping to the good parts, we have to live through every boring hour. Why do you think cryosleep got so overused in that period?” _

_ “Yeah, so we held Movie Night, like...at the end of every weekly cycle. For this specific week, we stuck with the horror genre. We were going to binge a bunch of samples of classic franchises. Fun fact: ships tend to stock themselves with libraries of the old stuff, so the crew don’t get bored of watching stuff they probably watched in theater the week before enlistment. Anyway, I think maybe our allies were starting to get bored themselves. They usually spent their time sparring or talking; they did far less than our guys did. And the fatigue of doing the same shit over and over again was finally getting to them.” _

_ “So Wes, being the idiot he is,” Billy went on. “goes up to one and asks ‘Hey, we’re going to be watching horror flicks in an hour, want to join us?’ The Elite is rightfully confused, and almost outright denies him, but then cocks his head and asks…‘Horror flick?’” _

_ Their Sergeant, Toski Pinca, then patted Washington on the back as she said, “So that’s the story of how this kid got a whole alien group intrigued by human cinema. The story of how they took it...that gets a bit more interesting.” _

* * *

**Halloween**

“...I don’t understand the ‘fear’ in this example.” Koro ‘Chantak said as the credit roll began.

“What? He’s a  _ stalker _ ,” Private Jeffrey Jones replied. “The feeling of constantly being watched...a looming threat always hidden in the background...that doesn’t get to you?”

“If a masked man came at me, personally, I would stab him.”

“Michael Myers is too  _ powerful _ to just stab.” Corporal Danny Mann deadpanned.

“He is dead at the end.” Usze ‘Taham pointed out.

“Here’s the thing about slashers - they  _ never _ stay dead. Either it’s revealed in the next movie they survived, or something comes along to bring them back to life. That’s why there’s like three dozen more movies with this guy! Not to mention all the  _ others _ in the subgenre…”

“Yeah, that’s the whole point of our ‘one slasher’ limit,” Lance Corporal “Drummer” added. “Even if we only did the massively popular figures, we’d still be watching movies for the entire rest of the trip...and the return trip.”

“But...why make so many?” Lul ‘Ludam asked.

“Money.”

* * *

**The Shining**

“Oh, so  _ this  _ is why I hear some marines refer to themselves as ‘Johnny’.” Lul said.

“Yeah, it’s a reference.” Weslley nodded.

“The plot of this one…” N’tho Sraom began. “It is more confusing than the last.”

“Well, it’s fucking Stephen King,” Billy said. “Guy wrote an actual story about a green comet making machines go killer.  _ This _ is still very tame.”

“I do not understand the part with the man in a bear costume, though…” the Arbiter said. “What were they doing?”

All the marines froze; none brave enough to answer that question. They all glanced at the open, mandibled mouths of their allies.

“Don’t worry about it,” Sergeant Major Avery Johnson finally said. “It’s not important.”

* * *

**The Thing**

“That looked horrific.” Tapo ‘Rotun said.

“Unrealistic, but horrific.” his brother, Tova, added.

“That’s 80’s special effects for you.” Danny said.

“I was too busy trying to keep track of ‘The Thing’ to be frightened…” Xesa ‘Konom complained.

“Well, you’re  _ supposed _ to be as confused as the characters,” Lance Corporal Hughs Goldsworth explained. “It induces paranoia.”

“We do not have to worry about ‘Things’ in human space, do we?” Lul suddenly asked.

Everyone either laughed or chuckled.

“...That was a serious question.”

* * *

**Alien**

“Why does it feel like you predicted the Flood centuries before they were discovered?” Lul asked, causing the room to fall silent.

“Shit, you’re right!” Private Anzu Takamura broke the silence.

“Tiny fuckers that infect people...appearance differs based on host…the hivemind system…” Billy listed.

“Hivemind?” Theda ‘Koralai asked.

“Oh, sorry, sequel spoilers.”

“If Alien predicted the Flood, I hope to god Lovecraft wasn’t on to anything…” Hughs muttered.

* * *

**The Blair Witch Project**

“That was infuriating.” Xesa almost growled.

“Yeah, it was better back in the ‘90s.” Sergeant Toski Pinca said.

“Should’ve played #3!” Johnson said. “ _ That _ was the best one.”

“Would it not be confusing to jump ahead like that?” Usze asked.

“Not really with the way they did it,” Corporal Maryvonne Brodeur answered. “It works well as a stand-alone film.”

“Sucks they only did two.” Jeffrey commented.

“But he clearly said three?” Usze tilted his head.

“ _ There is no Blair Witch 2. _ ” Was the resounding answer.

* * *

**Birdbox**

“And you say this inspired a whole challenge of humans wearing blindfolds in daily life?” Arbiter asked.

“Yep.” Johnson nodded

“Is that not dangerous?”

“Yes it is.”

“And they still did it?”

“Hell, they still did it after being told not to by Netflix!”

“...And your species lasted another 500 years?”

“Oh, we haven’t even gotten to the toxic chemicals challenges!”

“What?!”

“Challenge _ s _ ?!” N’tho added.

* * *

**The Grudge**

“How could any human live their life normally after watching that?” Tapo asked. “It came out of  _ hair _ !”

“ _ Exactly _ ! That’s fucking scary!” Jeffrey said.

“There is  _ no _ way to beat the ghosts?” Lul asked.

“Nope.” Weslley said.

“Once you are cursed, you are doomed?”

“Yep.”

“I will give you that,” Koro said. “That  _ would _ be a terrifying existence to go through.”

Johnson looked over at Miranda Keyes. “See? Told you this was better than  _ The Ring _ !”

Toski glared back at him. “ _ Excuse _ me?”

“Oh no.” Mary lightly gasped.

“Did you not even  _ see _ those twisted death faces? Johnson, she crawls out of  _ the TV _ !”

“Yeah, and this one crawls out of  _ everywhere _ !” Johnson shot back.

Everyone else groaned.

* * *

**Final Destination **

“But how did the prophetic vision even occur?” Theda asked.

The humans shrugged.

“Why punish them for surviving?”

Another shrug.

“What was the  _ point _ if everyone died anyway?!”

“It was entertaining while it lasted.” Billy said.

“Look, it’s  _ Death _ ,” Drummer explained. “There’s no beating a literal part of the universe. That kind of existential fear is what drives people to keep watching - the vain hope that a human  _ could _ cheat Death.”

“I thought it was to see how many creatively gruesome deaths they could come up with?” Anzu asked.

“There is also that.”

* * *

**The Cabin in the Woods**

“So you made a horror movie... _ about _ horror movies?” Usze asked.

“Pretty much.” Jeffrey shrugged. “It’s meta.”

“Not even the only time we did it.” Anzu added.

“How can you even  _ stand _ watching the same scenarios and actions done over and over again?” Xesa asked.

“I...I don’t know?” Toski said, failing to find an answer.

“It’s just entertaining?” Johnson offered.

“Yet you criticize it all the time.” the Arbiter pointed out.

“That’s part of the fun?”

“Look, these were all made when the old tropes were either new or too commonplace to go away,” Miranda explained. “People just accepted them in those days. It took a long time for them to truly get boring.”

“Then we just made new tropes to abuse constantly.” Mary finished.

“It is hard to understand…” Theda began. “However, this experience was still...interesting.”

“Please do not be as foolish as these ‘protagonists’, though.” N’tho said.

“Hey, it’s called  _ fiction _ for a reason!” Weslley said, but with a slight laugh.

* * *

_ Continued excerpt: _

_ Many of the humans and Elites on that ship would come to find one another again, be it on purpose or accident. After a long war of wrongful genocide, these would come to be the first bonds forged between species. And while the lives taken would not be forgotten, and it would take time for the scars of the cosmos to heal; leaders from both sides would come to not regret this new alliance. _

_ And if you would like to hear more on a similar topic, I recommend [REDACTED]’s  _ Cinema: In Space! _ for a detailed analysis of alien film. I’m sure you’ll love to hear about the “apex killer” and “vengeful ghost” trends in Sangheili “terror films”. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this was actually supposed to include 13 different movies, but the remaining ones I either hadn't watched or didn't have many ideas for. Then I started growing tired of stretching this out and decided to cut them altogether.
> 
> As for that concept of that mysterious author and their "Complex Relationships with the Beyond" series, I hope to actually explore more in future Halo works. For something that was just supposed to be a throwaway segway, I got pretty invested in what I thought up.


	12. October 11th - Autumn Baking (Touhou)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Latest Terror: Guard Your Souls!
> 
> Sightings of a soul-stealing spirit surface.

** _Season 134_ **

** _The Latest Terror: Guard Your Souls!_ **

_ Sightings of a soul-stealing spirit surface _

_ Earlier this week, panic arose in the Human Village as an old woman’s cry interrupted the peaceful autumn morning. Neighbors flocked to the scene as the lady explained she had set a pumpkin pie out to cool on the windowsill; however upon return saw a horrific sight. A rabid ghost was waiting for her, its frothing mouth chattering in anticipation. The human feared for her life, but the arrival of others managed to frighten her would-be attacker away. _

_ Measures were taken to ensure the spirit would be unable to return, but alas, a similar event occurred just two days later. Two human children were returning home with their earned oatmeal muffins when the spirit burst out from an alleyway towards them. The two children ran for their lives as the spirit chased them. They soon tripped and dropped their muffins, but were fast enough to escape before the spirit could pounce on them. They were able to return home safely, and the spirit seemingly disappeared once more. As it was after dark, most people were inside, and therefore did not see where it could have gone.  _

_ The final notable event actually occurred outside the Human Village, with the victims this time being youkai. Some rabbits in the Bamboo Forest of the Lost were enjoying pumpkin bread they received from an unknown source when the ghost descended from the sky. Based on preceding sounds, the rabbits at first believed some kind of fox or wolf was out to get them. One rabbit admits she at first thought it was Tewi Inaba trying to scare them. However, the rabbits fled upon seeing what they described as a “misty fiend with bloodshot eyes and jagged fangs”. This was indeed Tewi Inaba, using the new urban legend to scare her peers; but to her shock, the actual spirit revealed itself to be behind her the whole time, and made a move to attack. The rabbit was able to escape, and the ghost was not there when back-up returned. _

_ Luckily, it appears that the spirit has not yet been successful in its hunts. At least, that we know of. But that just raises the question: how long will the string of miracles last? Who will be the first to succumb? If this spirit has attacked both humans and youkai alike, then who is safe? _

* * *

Reimu sighed as she set the latest edition of the Bunbunmaru Newspaper down. She usually didn’t read Aya’s gossip pieces, but today Sakuya had arrived and placed it on her doorstep. She could tell when someone was trying to tell her to “get to work”.

_ But this is the Bunbunmaru we’re talking about...Aya usually exaggerates the details for shock value. First, I have to validate just how much of this is true. _

Considering most of the “attacks” at this point took place in the Human Village, asking around there was a good start. The shrine maiden flew over and began asking questions. The answers she got proved the validity of the article, and more. Since the first attack on the old woman, at least 15 other sightings had been reported. The humans were all on edge.

_ This spirit has been so prolific...but how? I should’ve heard about this days ago...then again, Keine is so good at guarding the village folk, perhaps I’ve been shrugging reports off. But that in itself is odd...how has Keine not caught this ghost already? _

The humans were frightened, and they had every right to be. It was time for Reimu, as the Hakurei shrine maiden, to exterminate this fiend. But to do that, she had to locate the spirit first.

_ Now I >could< just go around and duel phantoms until I find the right one, but that could take days. And any day now could be the day when the first kill occurs. I have to outsmart this ghost. _

On a hunch, Reimu continued her investigation of the claims, and discovered a suspicious detail: everyone that had been attacked had been near some kind of food item. Also conveniently, the victim had either been scared to take note of the ghosts’ features, or something obstructed them. This already made Reimu have a guess on the incident’s culprit, but she had to be certain.

It was time to lay out a trap.

* * *

Keine laid out the “historical cookies” she helped her class make. Each of them were of symbols of the Samhain festival. The baking and decorating parts were done, and tomorrow the class would be able to enjoy it during their own recreation of the first Samhain festival held in Gensokyo.

After leaving the cookies for safekeeping, the were-hakutaku returned to her desk to grade the recent tests. All seemed well and peaceful, until she began to hear a strange growling noise. This was then followed by a crunching. The teacher turned her head. It was coming from the cookies.

It was coming from the ghost that had broken into her classroom.

Keine did not scream, however. She simply got out of her chair, walked over, and whacked the ghost across the head.

“And what do you think you’re doing?!” she demanded.

“Ow! I was…” the spirit began. “I was just...cleaning up…!”

“‘Cleaning up’? I think Sakuya would be very disappointed in you...” a figure from her supply closet said. “...Yuyuko Saigyouji.”

Coming out of the closet was Reimu Hakurei - the one who had approached Keine with this trap. It had unfortunately cost the teacher some of her students’ cookies, but at least now she knew the humans under her protection were safe after all.

Meanwhile, the ghost sighed, and took off her tarp disguise. The pink hair and blue outfit of the Netherworld’s “princess” was revealed.

“Youmu’s been trying diet plans again…” Yuyuko bowed her head in shame. “But I was still so... _ hungry _ !”

“Is gluttony not a serious sin?” Reimu merely remarked. “The yama would be disappointed in you. Be thankful you’ll never find yourself in her court, because she notes down every theft committed.”

“Of course…”

“And you’ll be interviewed by the tengu so she can write a follow-up to her fear-mongering report on your antics.”

“Of course…”

“ _ And _ you’ll help replace my students’ cookies.” Keine added.

“Of course…”

After the late night baking session was finished, Reimu dragged the sulking ghost out of the Human Village. It was time to finish this.

* * *

** _Season 134_ **

** _The Latest Terror - Follow-Up_ **

_ The identity of Gensokyo’s latest terror is revealed _

_ The previous week, sightings of a “people-eating ghost” were reported all over Gensokyo. While most attacks occurred in the Human Village, youkai also found themselves to be targeted. For some time after, all residents were on guard and anxious. _

_ But today we can safely say this incident has been solved. The Hakurei shrine maiden appeared on my doorstep with the culprit. After detailing her ingenious plan of using Keine Kamishirasawa’s latest batch of cookies as bait, the two were able to catch Hakugyokurou’s own Yuyuko Saigyouji in the act. The ghost herself admitted to every “attack” reported, including several previously unreported ones. _

_ Her reasoning for her reign of terror was the recent dieting plan that was thrust upon her, leaving her to crave more meals. The ghost would then patrol Gensokyo for unattended dishes, but soon lost control of herself and went after those still holding onto their goods. She promised she meant no harm. _

_ In slightly related news, the Scarlet Devil Mansion has announced a bake sale open to the public. All - except the aforementioned Yuyuko Saigyouji - are invited to either taste or submit dishes to the event. The theme is of “Autumn Baking”. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And this is the last of the three oneshots I wrote simultanouesly. I think I'm gonna keep doing that, because whenever I got writer's block for one, I'd just switch to another. Plus, somehow it made things go faster, I just had to juggle it with the first assignments of the quarter (because the Fall Break decided to just yeet itself away without more warning than "oh school starts again tomorrow").
> 
> Also, I realized too late I missed the chance to make this a sequel to the Fall Drinks one. Darn! Well, I still liked the idea of Yuyuko's gluttony causing her to accidentally terrorize Gensokyo.


	13. October 12th - Exploring a Graveyard at Night (Touhou)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Youkai have been daring each other to spend a night in the Myouren Temple Cemetery. A group of children soon take on the challenge themselves...

On one cool autumn morning, a sound ripped through the air near the Human Village. This caused an abrupt awakening for Hieda no Akyuu, who groggily stepped out of bed. After rubbing her eyes, she exited her room until a servant saw her.

“Awake so soon?” the young woman asked.

“I heard something,” Akyuu answered with a yawn. “What was that?”

“We’re not sure yet. Someone was just sent out to check.”

Not an hour later, a group of human children were dragged back into the village by the scout. They were struck with fear, and cried about a monster at the cemetery. When word got to the Hieda residence, Akyuu could not help but seek out the children herself.

For lunch that day, one child involved was invited to share the events that occurred that night.

* * *

_ From the perspective of Ichirou Kato _

It all started while we were doing our chores. Hanging the clothes out to dry, my younger brother Ryo noticed the bushes shaking. We went over and saw a fairy inside, completely terrified.

“They left me…” the fairy was muttering. “They just left me to  _ die _ !”

“Who?” I couldn’t help but ask her.

“My friends…! We made a pact to spend the whole night in the cemetery, and then they ditched me at the first sign of trouble!”

“Why visit the cemetery at night, though?” my best friend, Tetsuo, asked the fairy.

“That tengu who writes for the Bunbunmaru...she wrote an article about finding a monster in the cemetery. Then some ice fairy declared she would take it down...one thing lead to another...and suddenly we were all in there proving our bravery! But I didn’t even really  _ want _ to be there…”

By that point, our mother came out to see what was taking us so long. Upon seeing the fairy, she raised her broom and chased her away. After a warning about talking to strange youkai,  _ especially  _ fairies, we were sent off to do the rest of our chores.

But some of us couldn’t stop thinking about it. Even though it was just me, Ryo, Tetsuo, and two other kids who spoke with the fairy, somehow word about what was said got around. Until that kid that lives across the street from me, Momotaro, did exactly what the ice fairy did.

“Of course some stupid fairies got scared so easily,” he said after chores were done. “But I’m no fairy! My grandfather used to beat up youkai all the time! And since he’s too old to be out too late, I’ll go beat up that monster myself!”

“Aren’t you too  _ young _ to be out, too?” one girl asked him, unimpressed.

“Even if he wasn’t, he can’t pull it off.” one boy, Akihiko, remarked. “One hour into the night, and he’ll need the Hakurei shrine maiden to come save him.”

I saw Momotaro’s cheeks puff out, and knew where this was going.

“And  _ you’d _ last only ten minutes!” he shot back.

“Only ten? I could stay out all night!”

“Prove it, then!”

“I  _ will _ !”

And that was how myself, Tetsuo, Momotaro, Akihiko, Isao, and Kenji went out to the Myouren Temple’s Cemetery. Why were the rest of us dragged inro Momotaro and Akihiko’s challenge? Since Tetsuo and I had spoken to the fairy, we were deemed the closest to informats out of anyone, despite the fairy’s words being few and vague. Isao and Kenji were respectively Momotaro and Akihiko’s closest friends, and therefore acted as their “seconds”.

Once night had fallen, and everyone in the village had gone to sleep, the eight of us snuck out of our beds and met on the path to the cemetery. Ryo had tried to join me, but I absolutely forbade it. The only thing that kept him from snitching on us in response was me telling him that if anything happened to us, he would be the only one to know where we had gone. He reluctantly took this job of leading the adults to us if we needed saving.

There was no one guarding the cemetery, at least to our knowledge. If they were, we somehow had avoided them all night. After entering, we decided to walk around. Mist was everywhere, so it was hard to see.

We had to have spent hours looking for any sign of a monster. Kenji started to think the fairies had been seeing things, while Isao suggested it was all a prank on us. I have to admit, the idea that we had been lured out into the cemetery, at night,  _ alone _ ...Isao hadn’t outright said it, but we were all thinking it.

What if it was a trap?

The two competitors tried to hide it, but we all knew. They were scared of the prospect of being snatched up by a fairy, or worse,  _ a youkai _ , and our parents being none the wiser. We never made any mention of it, though. Because the truth was, we were just as scared.

But we were also too proud to admit it. And none of us were any prouder than Momotaro and Akihiko.

At one point, we decided to sit and rest. Nothing had shown itself, but the dread of something appearing at any time never left us. For a while, we just sat and talked. This actually helped ourselves calm down. Just for a little bit, it was almost like we weren’t out in a graveyard in the dead of night.

And then Isao heard it first.

“Guys…” he said. “Please tell me I’m going crazy…”

“What is it?” Momotaro asked him.

“I just heard something walking…”

“But we’re all sitting down.” I said.

“ _ I know _ .”

We sat in silence after that, until Akihiko began laughing.

“Oh, Momotaro! Did you two plan this?” he asked.

“What are you talking about?” said boy asked back.

“You two must’ve plotted this beforehand. That if I didn’t back down, you’d try to freak me out.”

“Akihiko...I didn’t ask him to do that. Really.”

“Mhm.”

“I’m not lying!”

Then, we  _ all _ heard footsteps. Coming towards us.

Like deer, we froze, and turned our heads towards the source. But, because of the darkness and mist, we couldn’t see what it was. All we could see was a large shadow coming at us.

That was the sound everyone heard that morning. Seeing that caused all of us, in unison, to scream and run out as fast as we could. We didn’t even check if we were being chased, though we assumed that we were. We ran until someone from the village appeared in the path, blocking our way. Confused, but also angry as he soon realized what we had done, he herded us back to the village.

I guess a youkai in the Myouren Temple Cemetery wouldn’t be  _ uncommon _ . That doesn’t make it any less frightening, though. I didn’t try to argue, having to face my parents upon returning. I knew what we had done was stupid, and we could have been killed.

I just would like to know what it was exactly. We never could figure it out. Not even the adults when we described it to them.

* * *

That evening, there was a knock at the door of the Myouren Temple. Byakuren opened it, and graciously allowed the two visitors to come inside.

“Reimu! Marisa!” she said. “What brings you to our temple?”

“Oh, we just wanted to check on something.” one of the visitors, Marisa Kirisame, answered.

“Check on something? Has there been an incident?”

“Not exactly,” Reimu said. “Though people having been getting concerned. You haven’t noticed anything new in your cemetery, have you?”

“The cemetery? Well, there’s been some mist.” She gave it more thought. “Hm, I’m not sure...I just know it’s become more popular recently. Though none of the new guests stay long enough to tell me why.”

“Eh? What do you mean by that?” Marisa asked.

“Well, earlier this month, I started taking late night walks out there. On one occasion, I noticed a youkai had entered, and went to go greet them.” Byakuren furrowed her brows at the memory. “But then, they just...ran off. I stopped my walks shortly after, but found myself continuing to go out to just...look around. And every night, I’d find more youkai coming into the cemetery. Just last night, I come across a group of human children actually…”

At that, Reimu and Marisa exchanged looks.

“And the mist…” Reimu began. “When did it roll around?”

“Oh, about the same time I started my walks…” Byakuren said. “Why?”

“Nothing...I think we got all the answers we needed...we’ll make sure to keep non-grieving visitors out of your cemetery from now on.”

Marisa snickered at that. “Seems like she’s been doing a good job of that already, though.”

Byakuren was only confused at the magician’s laughter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I got this one done surprisingly fast. I originally meant for this to be longer, and to actually go into detail about the fairies and Aya being the cemetery, but I decided to just get down to the point with the children's account. I also didn't realize how long it's been since I've written something in first person...that was refreshing, too.


	14. October 13th - Kiss of Death/Life (Touhou)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hata no Kokoro's latest play is based on a true story.

A cold February evening. A light snowfall dusted the dirt paths of the Human Village. Inside the old theater house, the latest of Hata no Kokoro’s plays was premiering. Dinner and a show. 

Of course, Yuyuko Saigyouji had to attend. It was free food to go with entertainment. She hadn’t really paid attention to any other detail. She only feasted.

But the actor’s cries broke through her gluttonous haze, causing her to stare down at the scene. The two leads, a pair of doomed lovers, embraced each other in tears.

“It matters not to me what you are,” the man said. “It matters not to me what you do. What matters to me most is the love I feel for you. Let that be my sword and shield, I say. I will not die.”

“You’re a fool,” the woman said back. “A damned fool.” The actress sighed. “And so am I…”

The two shared a kiss, but the man’s body went limp. After the woman realized this, she allowed his body to fall out of her arms. Her hands covered her face as the actress cried.

Despite not understanding the context of it all - having been more attentive to her meal the whole time - Yuyuko still felt a tug in her heart. It wasn’t just the sympathetic feeling of seeing a tragedy unfold. Some other grief was buried deep inside her; one she had not been aware of until this night. However, no matter how hard she attempted to unearth it...she could find no reason why she felt this way.

She felt a hand on her shoulder, then. Out of her thoughts, Yuyuko realized people were leaving. That had been the ending. It had just...ended there.

She also realized that behind her was her dear friend, Yukari Yakumo.

“Yukarin…” she said as she looked up. “I didn’t notice you there.”

Yukari smiled softly. “It seems I wasn’t the only thing you didn’t notice. What are you doing, still sitting here?”

“I was just...thinking. After that scene…”

“It was quite the ending, wasn’t it?”

Yuyuko hummed in response. Then, she furrowed her eyebrows. “Wait...I came for the dinner...but why are  _ you _ here, if you don’t mind me asking?

“Oh, I helped in the production. The director needed some guidance on the facts.”

“This is based on true events?”

Yukari gave a slight nod. “Though...I don’t blame you for being unaware. You…” She bit her lip. “You wouldn’t have heard this tale. The man didn’t go to the Netherworld…”

“Ah, I see.”

Yuyuko got up, and together they departed from the theater. And yet, up until the late hours of the night, the question still lingered in her mind.

_ Why do I feel...such an intense sorrow? _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I actually wrote two oneshots meant for a later day tonight. It was just so easy for me to do them right now. Then I decided, rather than waiting for their proper dates, I'd just submit them now and shuffle the remaining prompts.
> 
> Anyway, for any Halo fans that don't know Touhou lore - Yuyuko's "manipulation of death" ability was one she's had since she was a living human being. She also killed herself to seal the Saigyou Ayakashi, this youkai cherry tree that lured people to die underneath it. Unfortunately for her, she lost her memory as a ghost. And now the oneshot makes sense!


	15. October 14th - Hell (Halo x Touhou)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dear humanity: We regret being alien bastards.

One thing that the Covenant did not expect when going into war with the humans was something that would not become apparent to them until after death. Not only did they discover their promise of a “Great Journey” was a lie, what they  _ did _ find upon dying was something they never could have imagined.

Having died in the territory of space belonging to humans, committing crimes against humanity, they were subject to the judgement and afterlife processes that humans were subject to. That meant being ferried down the Sanzu River and judged by the yama in Higan. For some, that meant an audience with the enma herself.

They would come to regret being alien bastards.

* * *

**Ripa ‘Moramee - The Price of Arrogance**

“How the mighty have fallen. I’m sure the judges of your people had little faith in you. I suppose I’ll have to lift the burden of judging you from their shoulders. You’ve sent good people down that river, you know? Your entire kind has; but you have got to be the greatest butcher. You got what you wanted. You served what was apparently the only purpose for your existence - complete annihilation. Allow the demons of Hell to return to you the favor.”

* * *

**Prophet of Regret - The Price of Manipulation**

“Regret, regret, regret. It matters not your feelings on what you have done. Out of the entire Covenant, you are one of the most guilty. And yet you do not regret your actions. No. You regret your  _ failure _ . You regret having to sit before me now. Perhaps some time in Hell will force some true remorse out of you.”

* * *

**Prophet of Mercy - The Price of Compliance**

“I will give you this...you were not actively sinful, like your colleagues. You were simply at the wrong place at the wrong time, forcing your involvement. However, that does not erase the fact that at any moment, you could have ended this nonsense. Yet you persisted. You knew deep down the gravity of what you were doing, what you were  _ believing _ , but purposefully blinded yourself from the truth. You are one of the worst kind of sinners out there. The one who could have prevented so much, yet did  _ nothing _ . You’re no better than the sinners you’ll meet where you’re going.”

* * *

**Tartarus - The Price of Stubborness**

“Out of all of your empire that have found their way into my court, you are the most pitiful. How avoidable, this could have been for you, if you had just opened your eyes and ears to the truth right in front of you. The  _ real _ truth. Tell me. Was it because of your dedication that you failed to listen? Was it the temptation of  _ finally _ achieving that lifelong goal of “ascension”? Or was it merely the one who tried to warn you - what he  _ was _ \- that prevented you from hearing his words? You can ponder the answer to that for the rest of eternity. You’ve done your namesake well, Tartarus.”

* * *

**Prophet of Truth - The Price of Lies**

“The voice of the Covenant, here at last. How was your charade? Did you enjoy it while it lasted? My disappointment in you is unmatched. You held such promise. I’ve seen so few of your empire hold such concern for the feeblest in your ranks. Yet, you were willing to sacrifice them all anyway. You were willing to sacrifice all who followed. You sacrificed your closest allies, and in the end, it cost you your life. My role in the cycle of life and death grants me the power to see all, and know all...yet the reasoning of your delusional mass suicide attempt alludes me. You committed genocide to keep a doomed empire afloat. No, you  _ tried  _ to. But despite your efforts, the Covenant still fell. And despite the efforts of many who will come after you, many misguided souls will still continue your lies. So why don’t you go to them,  _ Prophet _ ? Go join your people in Hell. They’ve been waiting for you.”

* * *

**The Didact - The Price of Grudges**

“It’s such a tragedy. You were spared the destruction of your race, despite your actions. You were given a chance to redeem yourself. If only your mediation hadn’t been halted. If only you weren’t left to dwell in insanity for milenna. These are the thoughts of the poor wife who hoped to be reunited with you in death. Unfortunately for you both, I cannot allow that to happen. You are the embodiment of every fault of your species. To allow you any semblance of mercy would be to disrespect the victims you made, of not just the souls of the galaxy now, but all those you wronged during the height of your life. It is time you face your long deserved punishment. Time was your ally, Shadow-of-Sundered-Star, but now it has abandoned you.”

* * *

**Jul ‘Mdama - The Price of Vengeance**

  
“You truly were the Didact’s Hand. Nearly every fault I found in him, I too, see in you. The same can be said to you being a “prophet”. Did it really never occur to you to share what you learned? You had once so desperately wanted to convince your people of the mistake allying with humans would be. You  _ had the evidence _ . But you did what your wife wanted least of all - you split your people into factions. You divided them all. You  _ weakened _ them. Just as ONI had planned, albeit not intending  _ you _ to do so. Look where that brought you. Look where that brought your wife. Look where it’s brought  _ your sons _ . When they needed you most, you vanished. And just as you carried the torch the Prophets and Didact had given you, so too will your eldest son; this  _ Pale Blade _ . Perhaps that should be a comfort for you. You may not ever see your wife again, but maybe, you’ll have a nice reunion soon. In Hell.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it's implied that Eiki Shiki is the one dishing out these judgements, though I got pretty venomous during writing. I guess you could consider that, not only would 500+ years change a person, but she's judging genocidal aliens that have caused a >serious< influx of work for the shinigami and yama over the past few decades. No amount of morning coffee could cool down anyone having to deal with >that<.


	16. October 15th - Telling Ghost Stories (Halo)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The marines and Unggoy made a pact to find what the Sangheili feared most. One October night gives them a chance to find out.

If there was one thing that anyone knew about Sangheili (besides their strict honor code), it was that no one ever saw one afraid. The tall, reptilian people always seemed to be oozing out bravery. In fact, they looked down at enemies and comrades alike that showed any sign of fear. They were a completely fearless species.

In the month of October, that simply could not be allowed.

The first year of the base being open, a few of the humans and Unggoy deployed made a pact that they would discover a way to break through the Sangheili’s shield of courage. And one night, their latest attempt was a classic.

Ghost stories.

* * *

**Private Jeffery Jones - A Midnight Stroll**

Sometimes, when one can’t sleep, walking themselves to exhaustion is the answer. That’s the logic of late night walks, at least. It’s kind of weird to just go outside in the dark and...walk. But it’s at least safer than driving while barely awake.

At least,  _ theoretically _ . But as one woman would come to find out, the night is the most dangerous part of the day.

It’s cold, it’s clammy, and it’s almost completely black. The only lights leading her down the sidewalk are the streetlamps. The stars are out, but the city setting renders them moot. She didn’t bother to bring her phone - she only wanted to walk around the block, nothing more.

And as she’s walking down the concrete, she keeps her head down. She’s done this ever since she was a kid and heard the old saying, “step on a crack, and break your mother’s back”. She’s old enough to realize that possibly couldn’t be true, but it’s a force of habit by now. And it’s hypnotizing.

She slows down to examine each imperfection in the sidewalk. It’ll probably help ease her into a restful state. The concrete gets lighter every time she passes a streetlamp, only to go dark once again. The process becomes routine.

Until she stops seeing light altogether, despite being  _ right next _ to a streetlamp. Even though she’s confused, she doesn’t lift her head. She doesn’t want to. She keeps walking.

The air has been freezing. She at least brought a jacket. It didn’t matter how short the walk would be; she wouldn’t allow herself to freeze for even one minute. And yet, she’s beginning to notice a chill on her neck. It’s too small to be a slight breeze. It has too much of a rhythm to be wind at all.

Still, she doesn’t lift her head. She doesn’t want to. She just keeps walking.

And then she feels warmth. A tight warmth, enveloping her right wrist. She doesn’t need to lift her head up to see what it is. She can see it clearly. A hand. A hand stopping her pace, keeping her in place.

She never stopped looking down at her feet. She didn’t want to turn around and see what had been following her all along. This action grants her one last privilege; to view the last thing she feels.

She gets to watch the blade erupt from her stomach, and the blood run down.

* * *

**Private Weslley Washington - The Mascot**

They had to get a new mascot for the school. All the vandalism students would do to poor Petey the Bear, and the bullying to any who donned his suit, forced the school board’s hand. On Monday that week, the students were greeted by their new mascot.

They couldn’t tell what animal the mascot was. Just that it was fuzzy and orange. Maybe a muppet? No student was inside the suit; the school board wouldn’t risk rampant bullying again. But the students were never informed who was in the suit. That alone unnerved them.

Well, not everyone. One particular guy on the basketball team wouldn’t be frightened so easy. He would display how unafraid he was of the new mascot. So, the boy hatched a plan to embarrass the new guy at his first game. This would require a bit of set-up the night before.

The night before the game, the boy snuck his way into the school building. He brought with him some pink paint - wanting to set a trap at the mascot-only entrance. When the mascot would enter the stadium, he’d be doused in pink paint. An immature prank, but these were immature students.

However, who should he see waiting for him at the entrance, but the mascot itself. Its dead eyes stared down at him, as if daring him to keep walking. For once, the boy froze. And for just a few long moments, the two stared each other down.

Until the boy, determined to display his dominance, began taking strides forwards. He would beat this creep up, that’s what he’d do.

Just as he reached the mascot and reared back a fist, though, the mascot also made a move. Its mouth slowly began to unhinge, all the way to a 90 degree angle. The mascot lunged forward, trapping the boy into its mouth. Teeth sunk into his flesh as the mascot lifted itself back up again, as well as his own body. The boy was helpless to prevent himself from sliding down the mascot’s throat, ending up in a spacious stomach.

The next day, his classmates and team wondered where he went. He didn’t show up for class. He didn’t show up for the game. He apparently wasn’t even in bed that morning. The boy had just...disappeared without a trace.

For the next few days, he wasn’t the only one. 6 more disappearances occurred in the town, all students of the high school. Searches brought up nothing. Not even remains. Considering they all were mischievous and unruly in their own ways, the common theory was that had all run off to the same place.

For the rest of the time that high school was open, they had the same mysterious mascot. And for the rest of the time they had that mascot, they had no more problems with the students.

* * *

**Private Anzu Takamura - ‘Til Death Do Us Part**

It was Mariya Astley’s wedding day. The young daughter of a famous musician, she was to be wed to Rick Takeuchi - a wealthy businessman. While he was certainly well off, Mariya had fallen in love with the man, not his money.

If only the same could be said for the groom himself. Unbeknownst to Mariya, her fiance had been seeing another woman. Vastly younger, with various procedures done to her body, Asami Orito had stolen the heart of Rick. They had met at his bachelor party, when one of his friends invited her as “entertainment”, and the two didn’t stop seeing each other after that.

However, it would be bad for his image if this affair was discovered. It would also not look good if he cut off his engagement with a popular woman to be with a “former” sex worker. In order to be with Asami, Mariya would have to go. Preferably after their vows, so he could benefit further.

And Rick came up with a plan that would do just that. He made sure that Mariya’s drink at the wedding reception was poisoned, and that she would die several hours after consumption. All he had to do was keep up the facade of a happy husband.

Mariya died that night with no idea of what had transpired. She had not even noticed her new husband abandon the bed to go out. By the time Rick had returned that morning, his bride was dead. He called the police with a faux frantic tone, only to smirk after hanging up.

It’s said in human wedding vows that a couple will be bonded together until death forces them to part. After that, theoretically, the surviving spouse should be freed. They may join together back in death, but until the survivor’s time, they could technically do what they wanted.

That would not be the case for Rick. He overlooked one thing.

_ Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. _

Two weeks after the death of Mariya Astley, Rick felt safe enough to be seen around Asami again. When questioned by those who recognized him on the streets, he would go on a rehearsed speech of how the loss of Mariya deeply affected him, but he could not go on alone. It would be unhealthy for him.

“Mariya would not want to be the cause of such pain. She would want me to stay happy. And I will...for the both of us.”

But every time he told his lies, he felt a chill go down his spine. It felt as if someone was judging him. He could almost feel eyes glaring holes through him. However, he would always chalk it up to subconscious guilt, and try to bury said feelings back down.

Things began to change once Asami moved in with him. Objects would move when you turned your back on them. Phantom touches were felt and phantom voices would be heard. Animals kept clear of the house, while insects seemed to flock. An uneasy atmosphere took over the building overnight.

But Rick Takeuchi was no quitter. He would not be so easily intimidated by... _ whatever _ was intruding into his once peaceful life. And he always encouraged Asami to not be bothered by the events, despite the fact she never felt safe around him anymore.

To her credit, though, she stuck with him for their 6 years of dating. Then, it was her chance to become the new Mrs. Takeuchi. He even allowed her complete control of planning the event. Rick knew she had been dreaming of such a day for a long time. She passionately talked about how regal and grand she wanted her wedding to be. She wanted to be a princess.

So it surprised him when her mind would suddenly change. Every last minute, she rejected her old ideas and brought forth a new one. This continued until the entire wedding was an exact copy of Mariya’s. It caused rumors, but Rick shrugged those off. What he couldn’t shrug off was this new state his fiance took on. She even shifted the date to be on the 7th anniversary of Mariya and Rick’s wedding, as well as the former’s death.

Then, it was Asami Orito’s wedding day. Both the Orito and Takeuchi families were invited, including their friends. Rick was thrown off at the invitations sent to the Astley family, as well. He assumed Asami had been jealous of his previous wife, but maybe she truly felt sympathy? Or, she just wanted to rub her grand day in their faces, which was even more unlike her. Well, they showed up, so it would be rude to turn them away now.

He simply focused on the beautiful bride in front of him. The younger lady that had captured his heart. She smiled up at him, almost obsessively. That was another thing. She was getting so clingy. Then again, their whole relationship began out of cheating.

His thoughts were interrupted by the moments of the ceremonial process that required his participation. He had gone through this once before, so it was easier now. He went through with them swiftly. It should have been less nerve-wracking too, but Asami was throwing him off.

Taking off her veil revealed her hair to be dyed, like Mariya’s.

She wore contacts to change her eye color, to be like Mariya.

Her voice pitch was deeper, to mimic Mariya.

And even her speech patterns matched Mariya to a T.

Why did Asami believe herself to be Mariya? It didn’t make sense. She knew he had fallen in love with  _ her _ . The love for Mariya disappeared completely that Bachelor Party night. She should realize this would only do the opposite of her intention - it would turn him away from her.

It was even bothering the guests, who only stared in shock. His mother even gasped in horror. His poor mother! She must be so embarrassed by this display…

Rick shook his head. They’d have to talk after the reception; when they finally would be alone together.

When the priest finally came to the part of allowing any to object, Rick saw in the corner of his eye a figure get up. He turned his head. It was Mariya’s father. He looked angry.

“I object!” he shouted. “I cannot allow this!”

“Mr. Astley,” Rick said. “With respect...this is what Mariya would want, I know it.”

“What she would want?! You’ve gone crazy! I’m sure this is illegal! How no one has taken you away yet...I’m not even sure!”   
“Mr. Astley, you just have to accept I’ve moved on! Let Mariya rest in peace!”

“I will when  _ you _ do! Give me back by daughter’s corpse!”

Rick paused. The demand almost didn’t register. He didn’t have Mariya’s body. She was buried in the town cemetery. He never went around that part of town.

“What are you talking about?” the confused groom asked. “How could you even come to a conclusion like that?”

“ _ How _ ?!” the man screamed. “You’re goddamned holding her!”

“What? No, you must be mistaken. Asami is just…”

Rick screamed as his head turned to face back to his bride.

The corpse of Mariya Astley.

“What?! What is this?! Asami! What kind of sick joke is this?!”

The doors to the cathedral then burst open. Entering were several cops. One of them pointed straight at Rick.

“Rick Takeuchi! You are under arrest!” the officer announced.

“What?! But officer, I didn’t do this!” Rick said back. “I gave all control of the wedding to my fiance!”

However, his pleas went ignored. “You are under arrest for the murder of Asami Orito! We have security footage from your hotel showing you murdering her!”

Rick’s eyes widened in shock. “That’s impossible…”

He looked back to the corpse, still in his arms. He swore, he could almost see Mariya’s mouth twitch upwards.

“Rick Takeuchi, surrender yourself,  _ now _ !”

He felt something tighten around his hands, but all the officers and guests were still in the aisles. He could also hear the priest’s heavy breathing, which was too far away to be in grabbing distance.

Rick looked down to find Mariya’s hands around his.

He screamed, and threw the corpse away from him. Unfortunately, it had landed into one of the cops, prompting one to assume a threat and pull his gun.

The last thing he felt was something pierce his chest.

The last thing he heard was Mariya’s breathy voice in his ear.

_ “Death parted us...and now it unites us.” _

* * *

**Lance Corporal Bill Allen - Loss**

Pollo fell to his knees with a pained gasp. His hands were the only thing keeping him from completely falling on his face. This came at the price of small pebbles embedding themselves into his palms, causing another harsh exhale to escape his mouth.

He quickly forced his head to lift up, and allowed himself to glare up at his opponent. The other warrior, Vaxle, met his eyes. He was disappointed.

“I thought you were the greatest of your generation.” Vaxle said. He followed with a sigh. “I guess everyone was wrong about that.”

The older warrior turned away, causing Pollo to shoot one of his arms to reach out for him.

“No, wait!” Pollo shouted. “It was just one mistake! I’m better than this!”

Vaxle stopped to peer an eye over his shoulder and to look back to Pollo.

“Every dead warrior is caused by a mistake. So lay your head down and die like all the failures before you.”

Vaxle looked back ahead, and did not stop walking. Pollo could only watch him leave in shock, until he could no longer see his elder. He then grit his teeth, looked to the ground, and beat it once with a fist. This action only made him lose balance and fall.

He did not force himself to get back up.

* * *

Throughout the previous tales, the Elites had stood strong and proud. No matter what was thrown at them, they remained stoic. The only other reactions were of amusement; amusement that their human and Grunt allies could ever find things scary.

But Billy had paid attention, and he had made the right call in crafting his story. For once, he could see the slight muscles underneath Sangheili bodysuits tense. Some mandibles clasped ever so slightly. Eyes widened. They tried to hide it as much as they could, but the most attentive knew then.

They had found what the Sangheili feared most.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...I finally crawled out of the slump that prevented me from working on anything. I'm so sorry I've lagged so behind. Two more days of October, and I'm only now finished with oneshot #15! Having to update this in November is going to be embarrassing...
> 
> Anyway, so I only had four ghost stories, none from the Grunts. There were more stories told, but I felt it overkill to do any more. Besides, that dead bride one went longer than I intended, but trying to cut it down would only mess it up.
> 
> Not sure if anyone noticed already, but I included references nearly everywhere, save for "Midnight Stroll". Some are subtle, others are in plain sight.


	17. October 16th - Corn Maze or Maze of Mirrors (Touhou)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There is one unspoken rule in Gensokyo: Do >not< mess with the Garden of the Sun.
> 
> You can guess what happens next.

A frantic knocking at her shrine’s wall caused Reimu to spill the tea she was about to drink everywhere. Sighing, the shrine maiden got up and went to see what the disturbance was all about.

“Reimu! Come quick!” the visitor, Marisa Kirisame, shouted. “It’s a disaster!”

“It’s only 2 hours after sunrise,” Reimu said. “What could possibly be going wrong this early in the day?”

“It’s the Garden of the Sun-”

Reimu bolted into the air.

* * *

Gensokyo was a place full of many spoken and unspoken rules. The greatest of these rules were also the two intertwined the most in life in Gensokyo.

  1. Youkai must terrorize the humans.
  2. Humans must fear the youkai.

These two simple rules were the foundation of the haven that kept the existence of the supernatural going long after the takeover of logic and reasoning. The humans’ belief and fear of the youkai kept them alive and powerful.

The dueling system also kept the youkai from growing weak. This brought on the third most important rule of Gensokyo:

  1. It must be easy for an incident to start, but also easy for it to end.

The long-lasting peace of Gensokyo, therefore, was sustained by the endless cycle of conflict between youkai and human; and sometimes, between youkai and youkai.

Youkai of all manners of kind and strength inhabit Gensokyo. They often find ways to compete or cause mischief, as is their nature. And in the spell-card era, even the strongest of fiends could find themselves a challenge.

However, exceptions to rules always existed. And in the case of Gensokyo, that exception was Yuuka Kazami.

A powerful youkai that inhabited the Garden of the Sun, Yuuka often left the rest of Gensokyo alone. She was content in staying among the flowers. Despite this lifestyle, any who triggered her wrath would learn quickly that Yuuka was far from weakened.

The most important rule of Gensokyo not written on paper was to never mess with the Garden of the Sun.

But for this one day, perhaps it would be more fitting to refer to it as the “Garden of the Corn”. Reimu groaned as she looked down at what once were flower fields. It was all now a field of corn. No wonder Marisa was scared out of her wits. Whoever was responsible for this doomed them all.

Reimu looked to her friend as she asked, “So, where is she? We’re not getting blasted at, so I can tell Yuuka’s left.”

“Currently? At the farms.” Marisa answered. “She suspects one of the farmers did this.”

“Humans? In one night? Without her noticing? What would they even gain from that?”

“My thoughts exactly. This is definitely a youkai’s doing…”

“Too risky for a smart youkai, but too well-executed for a stupid one…” Reimu mused.

“It’s elaborate, too.” Marisa added.

“How so?”

“Usually, cornfields are simply long strips of crops. But this one is arranged to form twisting paths that lead nowhere.”

Reimu examined the layout of the plants with more care. “A maze…”

“Exactly.”

“So...a youkai who is smart enough to enact a grand scheme overnight, and reckless enough to take on Yuuka…”

Both girls paused to think, before exclaiming at the same time: “Yukari!”

* * *

At the request of her lady, Ran exited their home and waited outside. She wondered if perhaps she had done anything wrong, until she spotted two lights in the distance. The two were barreling towards the Yakumo residence at record speeds. And then Ran understood completely.

She held up her hands, signaling for the arrivals to slow themselves. Soon, Reimu Hakurei and Marisa Kirisame were floating in front of her.

“The Hakurei shrine maiden and the thief…” Ran began.

“Hey!” said thief shouted back.

“To what does my mistress owe the pleasure?”

Reimu pointed with an accusing finger. “We know it was Yukari who messed with the Garden of the Sun! So don’t even try defending her this time!”

The kitsune shook her head in shock. “The Garden of the Sun? You have to be mistaken! Lady Yukari wouldn’t even  _ dream _ -”

A giggle erupted behind Ran, followed by, “But it was funny, wasn’t it?”

Ran turned to glare at her master. “You  _ actually _ did that?!”

Yukari gave a thoughtful hum. “Yuuka is strong...but the boundary of strength and weakness is an easy one. Teaching her this lesson was nice.”

“Lesson? What are you talking about?” Marisa asked.

“Why, my old friend and I merely had a disagreement. Her reputation went to her head, and I warned her about that.”

“You put the farmers of the Human Village in danger!” Reimu replied angrily.

“Oh, but did I?” Yukari laughed. “That’s exactly what my intent was...to direct her anger at a target...only for her to find herself powerless. Tell me, Reimu; did you hear any reports of anyone getting injured?”

“I…” Reimu paused. “No. I just heard about where Yuuka was from Marisa.”

“And Marisa. Did you hear of Yuuka harming any of the farmers?”

Marisa slowly shook her head.

Yukari pulled her fan out, lightly fanning herself. “It’s because she  _ can’t _ . And she won’t until she figures out what  _ really _ happened and come running to me. I’ll beat her, of course, and then we’ll have a nice long chat about that anger issue she has...hopefully, with her seeing that I’m right.”

Reimu sighed. “That was a risky move you pulled. I’m still going to have to exterminate you for it. And Yuuka, too.”

“Oh well…” Yukari set her fan down, smiling. “I need something to pass the time before she gets here.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy crap it's been like a month since I lasted updated this and holy shit it's nearly December and this isn't even done, fuck!
> 
> I got two completed, though. Kind of short with abrupt endings, but it's better than nothing. Sorry; I've been having to catch up with all the schoolwork I got behind on. I'm almost there, so I found time to write this and the next 'shot. Maybe I'll get another in before the weekend is done?


	18. October 17th - When the Bell Tolls/Church Bells (Touhou)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An old grudge comes back to haunt Reimu Hakurei...maybe?

“Just a little more to the left, and...there! Perfect!”

The Three Fairies of Light panted as they let go of the bell that was just as big as they were. Reimu either didn’t notice, or didn’t care, as she backed up to get a better view.

Earlier that day, the shrine maiden had been cleaning up the shrine’s storage, when she had come across a shining metal bell. Her predecessor never mentioned bells, but she still figured it was meant to be at the top of the shrine. Why it had been put away, she didn’t know. Maybe it was specifically for a special occasion? She might never know.

But she had dusted it, and had enlisted the nearest fairies to put it up, and now the Hakurei shrine looked a little more beautiful.

_ I’d like to see Moriya try to top  _ this _ . _

“Is that all you needed us for, Reimu?” Sunny Milk asked, once she had enough oxygen back in her lungs, that is.

“I think so…” Reimu examined the bell yet again. “Let me just test to see if this will work out.”

Taking the mast she had set aside just for this task, she gently lifted one side of the bell. Once she let it go, the bell swayed with several rings sounding out. 

She smiled. “Alright, now you can go.”

The three fairies didn’t need to be told twice, and escaped before any other tasks came to Reimu’s mind.

However, Reimu found she would not be left alone, as female laughter followed right after. An ominous cloud of mist erupted from the bell, until a figure with ghost tails instead of legs appeared in front of it.

Reimu squinted, before letting out a gasp. “A spirit?!”

“Not just any spirit!” the blue-clad stranger announced. “For it is I!”

“Ai…?”

“What? No! How could you even get that wrong?”

“Well, we’re right next to the language barrier…”

The spirit with green hair scowled. “If this is your idea of a joke, shrine maiden, it is  _ not _ amusing! As your arch nemesis, I’m insulted!”

Reimu gasped. “Yukari?! It’s you?!”

“No! It’s Mima!  _ Mima _ !”

“Me...ma…” The gears in her head turned, before finally clicking together. “Oh! Mima! From like a two decades ago!”

“Yes!” Mima floated down to Reimu’s level. “You thought you had me completely sealed up years ago, but I cleverly tricked you! I’ve been hiding in that bell, waiting for when you would foolishly release me into the world again. And now that I’m free, Gensokyo will know true fear again!”

“Yeah, about that…” Reimu rubbed the back of her head. “After the time Utusho nearly melted the world...I don’t think there’s any topping that.”

“What? Who is...Utsuho?”

“And there’s also  _ that _ …”

Mima straightened up with a huff. “Also  _ what _ ?”

“It’s been so long...not many people might remember you...”

“What! That’s preposterous!” Mima looked insulted. “My track record of evil schemes is legendary!”

“Ok spirit,” Reimu rolled her eyes. “Go have fun in modern Gensokyo.”

This gave Mima a double take. “Hold on...are you not going to stop me?”

“Not right now...you haven’t actually done anything...except yell.”

The ghost merely huffed. “Fine then! I’ll go cause an incident so grand, you’ll regret taking me lightly!”

Reimu simply waved her off, before returning to cleaning.

By the day was done, the shrine maiden would forget the encounter. In fact, she would forget Mima altogether once more. Where did the evil spirit go? No one is sure. But perhaps she will make do on that promise...eventually.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes I put an "ok, boomer" joke in this. One of the few benefits of taking so long.


	19. October 18th - Ancient Curse (Halo)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Was it really the Prophets who decided the Arbiter would be a doomed rank?

Fal ‘Chavamee was dead.

He knew it to be true. There was no longer blood flowing in his body. His breath had left him. His entire body had failed him, causing him to fall. Everything ceased to function.

He’d like to say that the final joy he felt was the satisfaction of making sure Haka wouldn’t live to relish in this victory. But that wouldn’t be true. For he would finally get to see his Han again.

Although the bitterness was still there. That Han had to be murdered. That he had to slaughter so many warriors. That the Sangheili would continue to be forced into that damn Covenant.

_ Gods help any successor of mine that follow those fiends. _

It was not just a prayer. It was a threat.

The Arbiter was dead, and the Covenant lived.

* * *

Thel ‘Vadam was alive.

He almost thought it was a delusion; but it wasn’t. He had escaped the Ark. He had survived. By some miracle, he had survived.

Although he was not out of the water just yet. Literally. As he examined the outside world from the  _ Forward Unto Dawn _ ’s cockpit, all he could see was water. He had crash-landed back on Earth, albeit into the ocean. He was clear from the vacuum of space. But it would mean nothing if the oxygen ran out in here, or water flooded the sinking ship.

This allowed him some needed time to rest. To process. To think.

He might just be the first Arbiter to live in quite a few centuries. Any who survived a dangerous mission was simply sent on to the next. But that was due to the rule of the Prophets, the San’Shyuum. Now that the Covenant was dissolved...what would be next for him? Would there be any reason left for him to be Arbiter? After all, the initial “heresy” that gifted him this role was the destruction of Alpha Halo. But now everyone knows that was merely a blessing in disguise.

As he thought about the future, Thel could not help but think back to the past. Back to where this whole trend of the disgraceful Arbiter began. Fal ‘Chavamee.

He truly was ahead of his time. Despite lacking all the evidence that had come forth against the Great Journey in the recent months - Fal  _ knew _ . He knew it all had to be a lie. He knew the Sangheili were being manipulated. They killed him for it, but it didn’t change the truth.

_ I wonder...if there is no Great Journey, could there still be an afterlife? Could ‘Chavamee be looking upon us right now; finally at peace with the destruction of the Covenant? _

Yes; it really had been a miracle that Thel survived. Almost intervention, but perhaps not divine?

His thoughts were cut short when the humans finally pulled him out of the wreckage. They brought him back to shore, learned what they needed to know, and sent him on his way home.

The Covenant was dead, but the Arbiter had lived.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And I got this down in an hour. I originally wanted this to be a series of logs from a San'Shyuum analyzing Sangheili folklore and realizing "oh shit Fal placed a curse on the Arbiter rank, >that's< the real reason it's a suicidal role for disgraced warriors". However, trying to actually write it out was a little...exhausting. And I wasn't entirely sure how to make it flow. Instead, I ended up doing this neat little thing that played around with repeating phrases. Hopefully it's just as good.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time ever posting on AO3, so please forgive any mistakes I make while I learn the system. I'm keeping the work NR for now simply because I haven't written any of the oneshots yet and don't know what the highest rating would be, or if any content warnings will apply. These warnings, as well as tags, are subject to change in the future.


End file.
